Brilliant Creatures
by Muse Scroll
Summary: A trainer, having beaten Cynthia, is invited to teach at Hogwarts the basics of Pokémon Training, and he accepts. Based on Hokage Lizy-Sama's story. Rating for safety. Disclaimer: I own neither series.
1. Chapter 1

**A/N:** Yes, yes, I know what you're thinking, dear readers. "Ugh, not _another_ story!" Sorry about that, friends, but I have to get this out of my head. It's based on a story by the author Hokage Lizy-Sama, but it will be in a different time setting and with different characters and a fairly-modified plot, and yes, I did get her permission to do this. You may ask her yourself, if you wish. Now, then, the first chapter will actually just be a quick dive right into the plot.

**Disclaimer:** Yeah, I don't own Harry Potter or Pokémon. It makes me sad. :(

* * *

**_Chapter One_**

_You Read My Doorstop  
__That's Enough Social Interaction for One Day...  
_

Skeptical step after skeptical step, the young man was wandering through the foreign country, trying to find his destination. Then, he found it. A braclet on his left wrist allowed his home country's language to be easily understood by any of this country's members; form what he'd been told, it was done by magic. Yes, that's right, magic. Despite the fact that it had worked so far, he'd chalked it up to the fact that he already knew how to speak English fluently as well as his own language. Several of his home country's members had been English-only, so he'd had no choice, really, but to learn the language naturally as he'd grown up. Either way, though, when he finally found the building, he paused. It did, indeed, look quite run down. Looking up, he noticed a squeaky, filthy sign blowing slightly in the light breeze. With a glance at the letter in his hand, which was, rather oddly, parchment, he confirmed that this was the destination. His digital map affirmed it as well. With a sigh, he opened the door and stepped inside... only to freeze once the door was closed and he'd stepped away from it to take in his surroundings.

_What the hell?_ The boy thought to himself, his eyes widening a bit.

His eyes had been given the odd sight of chairs being pushed into the table. With nobody physically pushing them. A dish rag was cleaning said table at the same time, and like the chairs, nobody was actually doing the cleaning. The rag was... cleaning the table. On its own. As it floated there. The dishes were picking themselves up and landing on a nearby tray, that once it was full, a server came by and picked it up. Then the shock passed. So magic was real after all... not that big of a deal, really. The things that went on at home were, quite frankly, far more impressive. Another look at his letter of invitation told him to talk to the bartender, so he went over there.

"Excuse me," the man said to the bartender. "I'm looking for Tom."

"You've got him," said the bartender, looking at the visitor with a light smile. "What can I do for you?"

"I'm the new professor for Hogwarts, and I was told to come here first for supplies."

"Ah! I've been expecting you! Come this way, I'll show you where to get your things. You have your list, right?"

"Right here."

"Alright, then, I'll open up the way and you can get shopping. Once you're done, come on back to the Leaky Cauldron and you'll stay a couple nights here before heading to Hogwarts."

"Got it," nodded the young man with the short red brick-colored hair.

Once the bartender pulled out his stick – _wand_, the visitor reminded himself – and tapped the appropiate bricks on the wall. When the wall began to fold apart and reveal a fairly busy and large alleyway, the new professor couldn't help but let his jaw fall open. If physics would've allowed it, it would be touching the floor at the moment. Then he shut it, because he reminded himself once more that his home country was more impressive.

"Alright, see you in an hour or two," Tom said with a wave, as he left to go back to work.

The young man nodded in reply, and stepped into the alleyway, noting how the entrance closed behind him as he moved away from it. With how magic's abilities seemed so ranged, it was wise to be wary of its abilities. Once he made sure it was safe – with a fairly quick sweep of the area – the man moved on and began to purchase that which his letter required and recommended of him. Cauldrons, quills, parchment, the usual. He went through it systematically, buying only the necessary items with the money the bartender had said was from the school. Thankfully, Tom had also explained their monetary system. Gold ones are galleons, silver are sickels, and bronze are knuts. Seventeen sickles to a galleon, and twenty-nine knuts to a sickle. Frankly, the weirded money system the man had ever heard of. Either way, everything was absolutely normal – as normal as shopping in a magical place could be – until he entered the wand shop, apparently owned by a man named Ollivander and where wands had been made for several centuries. The dimly lit shop was quite... homey, actually. It had a nice, gentle atmoshpere, what with its huge amounts of box-filled shelves and the single desk and the wand on a pillow in the windowsill. The little bell that rang when the door was opened was nice, as well.

_Hmm... am I just supposed to pick one out?_ Thought the foreign man, but then the shopkeeper came out from between the shelves.

"Ah, you must be the man I am waiting for," The elderly male said calmly, to which the younger one nodded.

"Yes, sir," He said politely.

"Well, Mr..."

"Nozawa. Aromi Nozawa."

"Alright, Mr. Nozawa, which is your wand-hand?"

"Umm... my dominant hand?"

"Yes."

"My right hand," Aromi said, as he held it out, sensing what was to happen.

Ollivander pulled a small measuring tape out of nowhere, and began measuring the arm, while the new professor waited patiently. Years of his former job taught him how to have plenty of it... but it was when the man stepped away and the tape kept measuring that he raised an eyebrow. Once the shopkeeper came back and waved his hand, the tape fell with a small noise to the floor, utterly limp.

"Very well, Mr. Nozawa, let us begin with this one," Ollivander said, removing it from the box and handing it to him. "Give it a swish."

"What for?" Aromi asked, intriquied, as he did so. A moment later, the lamp on the man's desk no longer existed, making the young man wince and hand back the wand. "Never mind, I understand... the wand chooses who wields it, right?"

"That would be correct. It seems that this pheonix feather is not meant for you, Mr. Nozawa."

A second wand was brought forth, introduced as being a mahogany, twelve-inch dragon heartstring wand. The result was that Mr. Ollivander lost a large chunk of his desk. The third wand, a fourteen-inch, oak, unicorn tail hair-core wand didn't do nearly as much damage... if you consider having an entire row of shelves collapsing minor damage. But the shopkeeper seemed to be taking it all in stride; probably because he'd been through this quite a few times. At last, however, the man brought forth a thirteen-and-half-inch, maple wood, unicorn tail hair-core. The very instant the handle was gripped firmly in the new teacher's hand, a warm, pleasant feeling rushed through him, making his patient smile grow a bit more as a few sparks were emitted from the tip of the wand.

"Well, then, Mr. Nozawa, that appears to be the wand for you," Ollivander said calmly, as he recorded it. "That will be ten galleons, please."

Aromi paid and thanked the man for his patience in addition to apologizing for the damage. As he had suspected, the man had been through such a thing many times before, and knew from plenty of experience how to take it in stride. Not ten minutes later, the new professor was to be found in his rented room inside the Leaky Cauldron, resting and calmly adjusting to his new situation, as he re-read the letter once more.

_Dear Mr. Nozawa,_

_We would like to request for you to become a professor at our school of Hogwarts. It is a school teaching young witches and wizards the basics of how to control the magic they are born with. During previous years, we have had a teacher similar to yourself present this subject in earlier years, and would like to return it to the school this year. It would be greatly appreciated if you were to accept._

_Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry_

_Headmaster Dumbledore_

It had seemed so strange at the time, when he'd received it. The subject they wanted him to teach how about the creatures he knew so well since he grew up with them: Pokémon. After about a day, he had essentially said "What heck, why not?" and replied with a yes. No more than a day later, the second letter had arrived:

_Dear Mr. Nozawa,_

_We are pleased to know that you have accepted our offer. The transportation has been arranged, and everything has been prepared. Upon arrival, you will receive the necessary funds and materials in order for you to effectively teach your class how to take care of the magical creatures your land calls Pokémon. We look forward to seeing you among our staff this year._

_Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardy_

_Headmaster Dumbledore_

Of course, he'd held his skepticism about magic the entire way there. Although the trip had been fairly short. After talking to his friends and family – such as his mother, Cynthia, Prof. Rowan, and everyone else – he'd gone. The "portkey", as it was called, had been quite the... unique... experience. Which only served to floor him upon arrival and cause him to nearly lose his breakfast, the damn thing. From then on, he'd proceeded to get his necessary materials – which he now had – and continuing to get ready. His Luxray was curled up at his side on the bed, as he put aside the letter, turned out the bedside lamp, turned over, and quickly fell asleep...

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**A/N**: Alright, it'd be awesome to have some reviews from you guys to tell me what you think. Chapter Two is already going through my head, as well. Awesome! By the way, this will take place in Harry's fifth year. Mostly because it's easy to do, but also because it'll be an easier way to mess with Umbridge _and_ Malfoy at the same time. Hurray! Also, that beginning quote wasn't supposed to have any meaning. I'll be doing that a lot for this story: opening up with meaningless quotes and using song lyrics as scene breaks.

Also, if you would like to see what the trainer looks like before he puts on his robes and stuff, look here up my dA account (EliteBeatAgent). It'll be easy to find from there.


	2. Chapter 2

**A/N:** Alright, so here's the second chapter of this story. Chugging right along, isn't it? I hope to keep this up for a while, as I bounce back and forth between this story and my other ones.

* * *

_**Chapter Two**_

_The Dice Are Trying to Kill Me!_

"What a joke... Platform nine and three-quarters?" Aromi scoffed. "That's bull. There's only platform nine and ten!"

At the moment, the young new professor, with his small amount of gear, was standing in the space between two brick pillars. Apparently, the train he was supposed to take was nearby – but not it wasn't in sight. He was told it was an elegant-looking train, with gold and red on it, unlike the bland ones he stationed on platforms nine and ten. With a sigh, Aromi paced the space between the pillars for a bit, then sighed again as he leaned against the wall opposite the one supposedly blocking his way. What was he supposed to do, break it down with force? That's when he finally noticed it... the shadows were off. The light should have had a shadow going right onto the target bricks... but the shadows were going _through_ the wall, it seemed. Maybe he had to walk through it...? He knew that the wall wouldn't open up the same way the one to Diagon Alley did, so that didn't leave many options. Taking a deep breath at the prospect of walking _into_ a brick wall at full speed _on purpose_, Aromi decided to just get it over with and walked briskly towards the looming wall, leaning slightly into it as if hoping it would get it done sooner.

"What the hell!" The young man exclaimed softly when he appeared somewhere else totally different. Looking around, he noticed a nice, fancy train – the one he was to be taking – and a sign that sign nine and three-quarters. "...Weird. But cool."

Then with a shrug, he headed over to the completely empty train, found a good compartment, and quickly took a seat. He set his larger bag on the overhead compartment, and the smaller one at his feet, from which he pulled a book and quickly set to reading it. Not too much time passed before he was ina light sleep, the book still open in his lap as he dozed.

_Somebody once told me_

_The world is gonna roll me_

"Hurry it up, you lot!" Exclaimed the woman as she hurriedly said farewell to her children with tight hugs. Which happened to include the two darker-haired children, despite the fact they were obviously not related. "Now be good! Fred and George, don't cause trouble for the Headmaster!"

"Aw, mum!" Fred said calmly, with his trademark grin plastered to his countenance, his twin looking just the same.

"We wouldn't do that," George said.

"We would..."

"...Never think of..."

"...Doing such a—"

"Alright, alright!" The woman, known as Mrs. Weasley, finally exclaimed as she gave up. "Just get your trunks and get going!"

With a grin, the twins grabbed their stuff and quickly made their way onto the train and into a compartment where their friends were. Mrs. Weasley sighed at their obvious disregard to her instructions, but she _was_ pleased when the other three children waved to her calmly, having obviously listened. When they got on with their large trunks, they looked around for a few minutes, having to pause and hold on to the railing when the train started moving. They then took a full minute of standing there, looking a little clueless as they tried to decide where to go from there. At last, the bushy-haired girl sighed and led the way to a mostly-empty compartment. The only visible occupant was someone that was fast asleep with a book in his lap, a bag at his feet, and second bag in the compartment above his head.

"Hermione, why here?" The redhead asked quietly, looking at the odd man the entire time.

"It's the only one this open, Ron," Hermione replied sternly as she walked in and put her stuff above her seat before sitting. The other two boys reluctantly entered after her and did the same. "Besides, he's fast asleep."

"Good," Ron said. "He's weird enough with that clothing."

"It looks like muggle clothes," The other boy said.

"Maybe he's another first-year mudblood," Sneered a despicable voice from the compartment's doorway. The owner was a moderately sized boy with blond hair slicked back with some strong gel or something.

"Yeah, right, Malfoy," Hermione scoffed. "He doesn't look young enough. I'd say he's a seventh-year at least."

"Nobody asked you for your opinion, mudblood," Malfoy said coldly to the brown-haired girl.

"And nobody wanted asked to hear your voice," Snapped the 'sleeping' young man, a strong sense of authority suddenly rolling off him in waves as he spoke. "So shut up and get lost."

"So the filth wakes up and decides it's acceptable to insult his superiors? I'll—"

"You will go back to your compartment right now, because I can guarantee you that nobody here wants to hear another word from you," Interrupted the new man, that authoritative sense piercing his voice and cutting Malfoy off. "As for who's superior, I'd say that it's me. Now leave, you brainless twit."

With a snarl and a promise that his father would hear about this and that the new boy would pay for his insolence, the nuisance known as Malfoy left with his two ape-like bodyguards. The sense of the young man being in charge vanished as soon as the blonde was out of earshot. At that point, he rolled his eyes at what had happened and sighed before closing his book after marking his spot with a receipt, but he was quick to also smile to the trio as he put the book away.

"Well, now that he's gone, the train ride seems a lot nicer, doesn't it?" The man said simply, as he leaned back to relax in his seat.

"Yes, it does, thank you," Hermione said gratefully.

"That git always thinks he's the best around," Ron growled.

"And that will only get him into trouble this year," The mysterious man said simply, but the confidence he put in the statement made it difficult to argue with him.

"But...! His father's in the Ministry, a-and...!"

"That may be so, but the Ministry is all the way in London. Hogwarts is not. Therefore, it is rather difficult for such a governmental system to control what happens at the school. Even if they do find a way, I'm sure they'll find that this year will be very... difficult to understand."

At that moment, a letter flew in through the cracked-open window. It would have landed on the floor, if the strange man hadn't caught it. He unfolded the parchment, and smirked, muttering something like "oh, well" under his breath before pocketing the object.

"Now then, what're your names?" He asked politely.

"I'm Hermione Granger," Said the bushy brown-haired girl politely, then she gestured to her friends, starting with the ginger. "This is Ron Weasley, and the last one is Harry Potter."

_Harry Potter, eh?_ Thought the man. _Dumbledore wanted me to keep an eye on him during my time here, so I'll have to memorize how he looks..._

"I'm Aromi Nozawa."

"Nozawa... that sou—"

"Are you a foreigner?" Ron blurted out, cutting Hermione off, which earned him a solid glare that silenced him. Aromi, however, laughed good-heartedly.

"I suppose you could say that. Although this enjoyable conversation will have to wait. We're almost there. I'll see you there, eh?"

With that, the strange man grabbed his two bags as he stood, and left the compartment with a wave. The other three glanced at each other, having the unanimous thought that the encounter was rather... odd. The golden trio soon shrugged it off and shrugged on their robes over their current clothes. Almost immediantly after, as the man had guessed, they reached their stop and stepped out. Hermione, finding the man rather intriquing due to his unique nationality, wished to find him and speak with him again. Unfortunately, it seemed that he'd run off, no longer in view...

_Well the years start coming,_

_And they don't stop coming_

Upon arrival into the Entrance Hall, Harry, Ron, and Hermione immediantly found their seats and sat there. Wondering if the new man would arrive with the first years for sorting, assuming he was a simple foreign exchange student – although Ron had to be informed of what that was, since it was mostly a muggle thing. As they waited, the rest of his family came. Rather predictably, the twins sat across from them with their younger sister, and immediantly began asking questions.

"So, brother dearest," George began... or was it Fred? Better yet, who could tell?

"We hear," The other continued.

"That you've..."

"...Made a new..."

"...Friend already."

"Is it..."

"...An ickle firstie?"

"Actually, no," Hermione cut in, earning a 'You cut us off _again?_' look from the twins. "He seems to be either a seventh-year foreign exchange student or a transfer student."

"Either one..." A twin began.

"...Would be very interesting..."

"...To have at our esteemed school!"

"Indeed, it would be, FredorGeorge!"

"Why, yes, we should give him a proper welcome, FredorGeorge!"

"Oh, knock it off, you two gits!" Ginny hissed when the doors began to open. "And sit down, for Merlin's sake!"

The twins, momentarily pleased with their quick ruckus, nodded to each other and sat down. As the first years filed in, the six of Gryffindors kept a close eye out for the man that had disappeared as quickly as he had appeared. Slowly, one by one, each of the first years were sorted; each house gained a few students... but none of them the man that the six had been looking for.

"That's odd," Hermione frowned. "He should've been there."

The boys shrugged as they dug in. Sighing and rolling her eyes as she muttered something like 'stupid boys' under her breath, she began to eat at the same pace as Ginny, the two girls chatting as the conversational level in the Hall increased greatly. After a decent length of time, the food vanished, every member of the building's stomach quite content. Once a few moments passed and the talking had down just barely enough, Headmistress Professor McGonnagal gently tapped her glass with a utensil and quickly silenced the room. With a quiet and polite thank you, Professor Dumbledore stood and moved forward to his podium that had appeared in front of the staff table.

"Now that we have all been welcomed and sorted and fed, I shall go over the rules for the first-years and reminders for all returning students." He began, a touch of amusement twinkling in his sparkling blue eyes. "As a reminder, the Forbidden Forest is absolutely off-limits to all students unless accompanied by one of the staff. Mr. Filch would like me to remind you that Ever-Banging Boomerangs are forbidden as well; those of you that are interested, please see the list posted outside his office door.

"I would also like to introduce a few new teachers that we have for this year. First of which is a replacement for our Defense Against the Dark Arts position, Professor Dolores Umbridge. Second –"

"_Hem hem_," came a high-pitched voice from the end of the table that Dumbledore had just gestured to. He took a moment to glance at the source, then tried to return to his speech, but was interrupted again by that irritatingly high-pitched voice. "_Hem hem._"

"Professor Umbridge? Would you like to say something?"

"Why, ye –"

"Excuse me, Professors, but no, she would not," said a new voice. "Professor Umbridge, I mean no offense, but it is far more polite to allow Headmaster Dumbledore to finish his speech before you begin your own. I would appreciate it if you would allow him to do so before you begin."

"...Very well," growled out that annoying voice.

"That voice!" Hermione exclaimed in a hushed tone. "That's him!"

"Can't be," Ron said in the samed quiet voice, glancing at the table. Before he said a word, however, Dumbledore spoke again and he had to shut his voice.

"Thank you," Dumbledore said with a curteous nod that was returned. "As I was saying, we have a second new professor. He will be teaching a class that has not been offered at this school for several years. Those of you third-year and above were given the option to either take Care of Magical Creatures by or these rarely-taught course: Care of Strange Creatures. This course is entitled in such a way for a reason, and it will be taught by Professor Nozawa!"

"...Bloody hell," Ron murmured, eyes wide as the newly introduced professor stood and gave a small bow before taking his seat again.

"Now that our introductions have been made, and we have all been well-fed, let us be off to bed. You are all dismissed."

The golden trio, along with the other three Weasleys, left the room in a bit of a daze. After all, they had all chosen to take this new, strange course. Hermione was surprised because she hadn't thought the school would need a foreigner; Harry thought the same thing, while the Weasleys were just dazed because they Ron had told them what had happened on the train. Once they reached their dormitories, they each said the thought the same thing:

_Bloody hell, we're screwed._

_Fed to the rules_

_And I hit the ground running_

As the students had made their way to their dormitories, the professors had begun standing while Umbridge, the rude pink toad-like woman, quickly stormed up to Professor Dumbledore and began hissing things angrily at him. What served to make her madder was the fact that he was absolutely calm about it. Professor Nozawa, having spent years in the wilderness and surviving on his own, had well-honed senses. He heard every word as he stood off to the side and discreetly watched/listened, pretending to check that he had everything in the knapsack he kept with him at all times, no exceptions.

"You never told me that this... this... _foreigner_... would be here!" She hissed angrily.

"I did not feel I needed to," Dumbledore said calmly. "Do not worry; he has been cleared by the Ministry."

"Even so, why choose someone such as him? He is obviously unversed in our culture and does not know a thing about magic!"

"That is true; however, I felt it best to request his assistance in teaching the new subject. After all, not many in his world are as capable as he is."

"I do not care! You will send him back at once, because he –"

"Can hear every word you're saying," Aromi said, calmly walking over. The only thing giving away his annoyance was his voice. "Professor Umbridge, I can vouch for Professor Dumbledore that the subject I am teaching. Although I would admit that there are a few that would be far better than me at teaching the theories involved in my subject, I am probably the best choice right now for teaching every thing else."

"Y-You! How dare you –"

"Interrupt you?" He said calmly, frustrating her ever more. "Oh, I dare; mostly because I can honestly say your arrogance is something that annoys me beyond belief. I have seen it countless times before, and I can honestly say that there is nobody – _nobody_ you know better at teaching my class. Other than that, stop worrying about such trivial things; you'll shorten your lifespan, and yes, that is a proven fact. Anyway, Headmaster, did you review the lesson plans I sent you?"

"Yes, they will do fine," Dumbledore said calmly.

"Then I will go to bed. Good night, Headmaster."

"Good night, Professor Nozawa."

"Please, Aromi is fine."

"Then good night, Aromi."

With a gentle smile and a wave, the new professor quickly left for his own room, hearing Umbridge still hissing angrily and Dumbledore calmly replying as he left, but he ignored it. Quickly changing into his pajamas and releasing a Pokémon at random once he was in his room, and ending up with his Staraptor released, he quickly fell asleep with said Pokémon at his side...

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**A/N:** Alright, so that's chapter two, and that was incredibly fun messing with Umbridge! :D I should be able to be on enough of a roll to get to chapter 4, at least. Please review! =)

**Credit:** Song lyrics written and sung by _Smash Mouth_ in their song _All Star_.


	3. Chapter 3

**A/N:** Alright, time for another chance to rip on both Malfoy and Umbridge in a single chapter! There's not much right now that could be better, is there? Aside from owning the franchises, right? Well, either way, I hope you enjoy this chapter as much as you all enjoyed the others! =)

**Disclaimer:** Since I'm tired of putting this here, look at the summary.

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_**Chapter Three**_

_No, I Will Not Fix Your Computer_

"I still can't believe that we were talking with the new professor yesterday," Ron muttered for what must have been the millionth time. Hermione, a tad annoyed, rolled her eyes.

"There're more important things," She said. "Like that Umbridge woman. She's from the Ministry, right?"

"Yeah, so?"

"Then that means the Ministry's trying to slip into Hogwarts!" She hissed, frustrated that the boys didn't get it.

"...Is that bad?" Harry asked, still a bit confused.

"Ugh, yes!" Getting more frustrated by the second. "They're trying to get to keep an eye on Dumbledore! The Minister might be giving her power, and she might try to mess with everything we've got here!"

"...That _is_ bad," Ron and Harry agreed at once. The girl of the trio sighed in exasperation and finally gave up as they entered the Great Hall at last, ready for breakfast and to receive their schedules.

Upon taking their seats, ignoring the few amount of people up at the somewhat-early hour, they began to put food on their plates and started to eat. A few minutes later, Professor McGonnagal, their Head of House, passed their schedules to them. Hermione, always one to take any given oppurtunity, immediantly asked a question.

"Professor," She began, then taking a moment to swallow her bite. "Do you know anything about the new class?"

"All I can say," Said the wizened woman, a small smile reaching her lips to the golden trio's surprise. Since when did she _smile_ so easily? "Is that you three had best pay attention; Professor Nozawa's senses are sharp and he will not tolerate any fooling around in his class... but once you pass some tests, I'm sure you will enjoy it."

"Why'd she smile like that?" Harry wondered, his attention now completely captured and his intrique peaked. "I don't see any reason for her to smile at a simple question..."

"Maybe it made her think of something she liked?" Hermione guessed, also at a loss, as she looked at her schedule. "We should get going soon, though."

"Ugh, double Potions with the Slytherins _again_!" Ron groaned unhappily, as he and Harry stood reluctantly.

Being with Snape for two periods was _not_ going to be fun. Afterwards was Herbology with the Hugglepuffs, which was so bad; but then they had _another_ class with the Slytherins! They didn't have that many classes with their rivals, but there was one with them that showed a bit of promise: the Care of Strange Creatures class, with Professor Nozawa, after lunch. Nobody had seen him teaching yet, but people couldn't help but stare at his obvious refusal to wear traditional wizarding robes; most of the members of the Great Hall, and the students in the hallways, watched him as he went off to his classroom to prepare for his first class, which was to be with the Ravenclaws. So many Ravenclaws and Hufflepuffs had signed up that they had to take classes seperately; however, with so few Gryffindors and Slytherins applying to the class, they were bunched up. All of the class times were double-length, to match their Care of Magical Creatures counterparts. Nevertheless, this new class and professor was going obviously going to be quite interesting.

_I don't ever wanna be like you_

_I don't wanna do the things you do_

"Ugh, I _hate_ Snape!" Harry growled out again. "And Malfoy! Those two bloody gits..."

"Harry, just drop it already," Hermione said.

"You wouldn't say that if you understood," Ron told her, a little more harshly than necessary.

"I understand, but there's no need to brood about it!"

"Hey, hey, hey," One Weasley twin said, coming up to the golden trio, cutting them off. "Have you heard of Nozawa's style?"

"No," Ron said simply.

"Well, we heard that –" FredorGeorge began, but were once again cut off.

"Quiet, you gits, we're there!" Hermione hissed to them. Normally the twins would glare at her, but they quieted up immediantly, as they all walked in and took up various seats, mostly to the front.

Soon after, the rest of the class came in. Harry noticed Malfoy coming in and sneering at him, so the former just turned forward and scowled at the wood on the desk. Once he looked up again, however, he noticed that the chalk board was strange... it was white. After a few moments, it clicked – it was the muggle version of a chalk board, also known as a white board. It used markers instead of chalk.

_Why would he use that instead of a chalk board?_ Harry thought, confusion showing on his face as the teacher stood from his desk and moved to in ofront of the class.

"Good afternoon, class," Professor Nozawa said with a genuine smile on his face. Some of the easier-to-impress girls immediantly swooned, despite his strange clothing.

"Hello, Professor," mumbled a few voices among the crowd.

"...Wow, is there anybody alive in this class?" He asked sarcastically, his smile widening to a grin. A few chuckles were heard. To this he frowned a bit. "Okay, enough; all of you, wake up. If you expected this class to be an easy 'A', I'll tell you now: you were mistaken. For the next month or so, you will be taking a _lot_ of notes. Afterwards, there will be a fairly big exam, and if you don't pass it, you must take it again. You can _not_ move on to the next step until that exam has been passed. Understood?"

"Yes, Professor," The vast majority of the class said, clearly listening now, since nobody wanted to take a big exam multiple times. The man smiled again.

"Good! Then we can move on to the first part of the class!" He said happily. "First, put away your wands; you won't need them for now. After you've done that, everyone take out a quill and some parchment, we're going to be covering a lot of material today. Before that, however, I'll go over some quick class rules.

"First of all, look around you. Every single thing you see in the classroom, including your classmates, are to be treated with respect. End of discussion. Second, almost all questions are allowed; however, if you ask a stupid question, I will tell you that it is, and I will probably not answer it. Finally, after we cover about a week's worth of material – if we make good time – I'll introduce you to some good friends of mine, and I'll give you a couple of rules regarding them. Any questions so far?"

"Yeah, why is a muggle like you teaching this class?" Malfoy sneered from the back of the classroom, his feet propped up on his empty desk.

"What, you think you could do better, or at least find someone else who's better?" Nozawa countered.

"Well, I pro –"

"No, you couldn't, Mr. Malfoy. You don't have the connections; Professor Dumbledore, however, does. So now that I've answered your question, ten points from Slytherin for disrespect. If you don't know how you did that, then you're beyond help at this point. Any other questions?"

"Yes, sir," Said Hermione as she raised her hand.

"Ah, yes... Mrs. Granger, wasn't it?" Nozawa said calmly, turning a little bit sideways to grab a marker for the board.

"Yes, sir. How is this class any different from Care of Magical Creatures?"

"Ah! So glad you asked!" Nozawa said enthusiastically. "That brings me to my main point for today!"

He put the marker at the top of the board, and began writing, but soon stopped. Having written the word before, and with the help of his wand in earlier classes, the board recognized the word and finished it for him. Kind of like the AutoComplete feature on some of his home land's computers. He wrote the second word to the phrase, which also completed itself. Then he wrote two more words – one of which was quite foreign. Capping the marker, spelled to never dry up, he turned back to the class.

"The material we will covering all year will be centered on creatures called Pocket Monsters," Professor Nozawa began, his smile still there. He obviously loved these creatures. "But since humans are lazy, they're more commonly known as Pokémon. And yes, the 'Monster' part is accurate, considering the capabilities of the creatures. Everyone, take out your texts and open them to page six and read it."

Once all the surprisingly thin – since there was only so much that could be covered by simple words – books were opened to the designated spot, Aromi turned back to the board and began to write once more. These words, however, did not complete themselves; it gave the students time to skim the contents of the book. Once they looked up, they found what they'd just skimmed written on the board.

"Alright, so these are the seventeen different Pokémon types," He began. "By that, I mean _elemental_ types. Admitedly, 'Fighting' isn't a natural element, but that's the easiest way to explain it. Any and all Pokémon go under at least one of these categories. There are two pictures on page six; the first is of a Pikachu, an electric type. Any guesses as to why it is that type?"

A few hands went up, but none as eagerly as Hermione's.

"Mrs. Granger, while I appreciate your eagerness, I would rather have someone else answer. So, we will go with Mrs...?"

"Weasley, sir."

"Alright, Mrs. Weasley, what is your guess?"

"Is it an electric since it's vulnerable to electrcity?"

"Not quite, but you're close," Nozawa said gently. "While Pikachu does have a close relationship with electricity, it is not a weakness, nor is it a strength. The truth is the fact that any and all Pikachu have full control over electrical currents – including their own."

"Sir?" Harry said, raising his hand.

"Ah, yes, Mr. Potter, correct?"

"Yes, sir, but what do you mean by 'their own'?"

"What I mean is that a Pikachu, along with all mature electric-type Pokémon, are capable of generating electricity within their own bodies. While it is true that all creatures have tiny electric currents running through them – that's how the nerves work – a Pikachu is able to generate a seperate electrical charge that runs into the thousands of volts. A fully-powered Thunder attack from one has the possibility of frying the target."

There were immediantly hushed whispers about this information.

"Although, not all of these creatures control electricity. Some control fire, and like the dragons of the magical world, have a pocket of flame inside their bodies running at all times. Rather predictably, their internal temperuture is quite high. Conversely, there are some with total control over water; a few, known as 'Normal' types, are able to learn to control _several_ elements. A single Normal-type, like the Meowth in your texts, once fully matured, is capable of controlling fire, water, _and_ electricity."

More hushed and amazed whispers. Until one hand was raised.

"Sir, what's this about a Pokémon changing form?" One guess as to who asked this.

"Well, Mrs. Granger, that's another part of the basics we need to cover, and I'll go over it soon, I promise."

As the class went on, similar to the earlier ones, many things were taught. The class took many, many notes; they covered single-type Pokémon, the advantages and disadvantages of evolution, and countless other topics. Once they had left the classroom, Aromi sat down at his desk again, glad he was done for the day. He needed the time to prepare for the next day and to relax. He waved his wand at the board – thank Arceus for Dumbledore's help in mastering it! – and wiped it clean, including its AutoComplete memory. Tomorrow would be another new day, and it was going to get busy. The first day was the only double-period class, since it was used to cover a ton of material; the rest of the classes were going to be just as well-paced, and hopefully, just as interesting. With a light sigh, Aromi went back into his room – connected to the classroom – and found his Luxray there, curled up next to his Espeon. The two were quite good friends, hence why they were so close at the moment. Smiling lightly, he opted to leave them be and head outside for the moment and use the beautiful day's remaining time by letting his other Pokémon relax outside of their Pokéballs, enchanted to work on the grounds. Out there, he sat by the lake and relaxed with the rest of his team...

* * *

**A/N:** Well, that's chapter three for you. Yay for ripping on Malfoy again! Don't worry, he'll get it a lot in this story, mwa ha ha ha! Either way, review, please!


	4. Chapter 4

**A/N:** Just like CJWrites said, I'm updating really quickly right now. Don't expect it to hold for very long, though. This always happens to me. I start a new story, I churn out a bunch of chapters really quickly, then it stops. Just flat-out stops. Until it gets picked up again. By the way, this chapter is a fairly large time-skip. It's after the introductory lesson of Nozawa's class, and is about a week and a half later.

Anyway, I hope you enjoy this chapter just as much as you liked the others! =)

* * *

_**Chapter Four**_

_You Are Beginning to Damage My Calm_

"I hate that little –"

"Harry!" Hermione hissed, cutting him off to keep anyone from hearing him. "Merlin's beard, not where a teacher could hear you!"

"Yeah, well, she deserves it," Harry replied coldly.

"Why don't you take your frustration out on your homework, then?"

"I can't write anything without it bleeding!"

"You can at least study your notes, can't you?"

"Well... yeah, I guess I can do that," He said, finally giving in. With a sigh, he got out his notes on Professor Nozawa's class, and started studying, hissing quietly when the back of his wounded hand brushed against his bag.

"You should report that," Ron said, as he looked at his own notes. He took a moment to rub his eyes. Seems that writing in pure chicken scratch was bad for the eyes, but he did catch Harry shaking his head.

"No, I can't do that, they probably wouldn't believe me..."

"You got me there, mate..."

With that, their table fell into silence as they all studied their extensive notes on the class. It was amazing how many pieces of parchment that single class had taken! There was stuff on single-type Pokémon, basic evolutions, dual-type Pokémon... the list went on and on. They were also required to memorize the names of the legendary ones. They had only spent about fifteen minutes on those, and no matter how many questions were asked about them, the professor only gave them more questions with his vague, no-answer answers. His excuse was that "I know as much about them as you do". Although most students accepted that excuse, since they were, after all, _legendary_ Pokémon – which their book explained to be next-to-impossible to see, let alone find – but there were a few that were skeptical, thinking he was hiding something. The golden trio were among that group... bu that wasn't important as they concentrated on the notes they had taken over the past day or two. A smirk suddenly came to Harry's face as he chuckled lightly. His friends looked at him oddly, to which he reminded them of yesterday. Then they all smirked. That day had been great, when Professor. Nowaza had shown-up both Umbridge and Malfoy, and made it look easy at the same time. He made it seem like he'd encountered their types before, and considering how he gave an air of understanding and power and authority, there was little doubt about such a belief.

"Oh!" Hermione suddenly exclaimed, glancing at the time. "We're going to be late to class!"

With a glance at the clock, both boys quickly matched their friend's speed in packing up and racing down the halls to the surprisingly large room that contained everyone's favorite class. For some reason, there was just something incredibly refreshing and happy and wonderful about such a foreign subject; perhaps it helped to have such a well-versed teacher, but nobody knows the real reason. Either way, the trio's musings were cut short as they stepped into the classroom to find it already full and their teacher's back turned as he wrote something on the board, his little AutoComplete feature currently turned off. If he noticed their tardiness, the only thing that showed it was a lazy, casual flick of his wand done behind his back. When the three of them reached their seats, they found a small message there, floating only millimeters from the wood in sparkling gold letters:

_You're late, but it's your first time, so it's okay! :D_

_Just don't do it again, or you'll lose house points. D:_

Despite the fact they were out of breath, the three of them managed a smile as they took their seats. Their neighbors also smiled at the rather odd message, but they didn't say a word. A moment later, the letters vanished as Aromi turned around with a smile, put down the capped marker, and stepped aside to reveal the subject. This cause a few faces to contort in confusion. After all, why would the subject be "Today will be fun and full of friendliness! :D"

"I see that some of you are confused," He began, and having explained status problems the day before, some got the reference and groaned at the bad pun. He just smiled a little wider. "Anyway, I'm sure some of you are wondering why the subject is what it is. Before we begin, let's get some quesses as to what it is. Yes, Mr. Weasley? And which of the twins are you?"

"Fred, Professor," Said the twin, surprisingly serious. This subject had held his and his twin's interest enough to bring about this result, so it was no longer a shock to the class.

"Then one moment," Nozawa said as he flicked his wand again. An 'F' appeared above said twin's head, while a 'G' appeared above the other. "The letters will vanish when you leave; now, what were you going to say?"

"Are we going to partner up for a project?"

"Nope," Nozawa replied, his grin becoming just a touch wider. "Anyone else?"

"Sir," Said a young lady as she raised her hand, introducing herself as Luna Lovegood. "Will this be about any future assignment at all?"

"Sorry, that's not it either."

"Uhm, sir," Said a boy timidly. This was Neville Longbottom. "Are we meeting your friends?"

"Yes! Very good! Now, Mr. Longbottom, what thought process led you to that conclusion?"

"Well... the board says there will be 'friendliness'... and earlier in the year you said you'd introduce us to some good friends of yours, so..."

"Good! Five points to Gryffindor!" Nozawa said happily. With his smile still there, he waved his wand again, and suddenly every desk had a paper. "Now, all of you must sign these papers, and they must be turned in before I can introduce you to my friends."

"Sir," Hermione began, raising her hand, and continuing when the man nodded to her. "Are these liability release forms?"

"Why yes, they are," Suddenly he became a bit more serious, the smile becoming a ghost. "I will explain why. It is to ensure that nobody here holds myself or my friends responsible for anything that happens here. You _must_ treat my friends with the same amount of respect you treat me; insulting them may result in a trip to the infirmary that may last more than a day. Hence the reason you are to sign these release forms; my friends and I will _not_ be held responsible for any immature acts everyone here may be prone to. Keep in mind that this is _not_ a magical contract; however, it _is_ a legal document. Failure to sign these forms _here_ and _now_ will result in you being transferred to another class and with no chance of returning. I will not be taking any chances."

"Er... so we have to sign it now?" Asked one student.

"Yes, and you only have five minutes to decide. While you do that, I'm going to be in my office; there should be absolutely no talking."

As Aromi neared his door, he could almost feel Malfoy's mouth open.

"That includes you, Malfoy," he said before closing the door to his room. A silencing charm activated instantly, keeping all inside noise from escaping, but the outside noise was allowed in so he could still monitor his students. There, in his room waiting for him, was his team. "Alright, you guys ready?"

There was a chorus of various different Pokémon sounds. To any by-stander, it was just a cacophany of noises; to Aromi, being so deeply connected with them, he understood at as a unanimous 'Yes'. One, however, remained silent. She wasn't supposed to be seen by the students. Yet. He gave her an apologetic look, to which she just shrugged as he returned the others to their Pokéballs. With that, he stepped out of his office and closed the door again.

"Three minutes left," He said, practically singing. "If you've signed, bring it up here~!"

A sudden flurry of movement, and when there was a mere thirty seconds left, the final paper was turned in. He took a couple of minutes to look through them by hand, then did another quick glance at them to double-check.

"Good, you've all signed," he began, clearly very giddy about... something. He kept it under control, though. Barely. As he pulled out a regular Pokéball. "Quick review before we go on. What is this, and why does it work at Hogwarts?"

"Sir!" Ginny said, raising her hand and continuing when signaled to. "It's a standard Pokéball, and it works here because it is one of few electronics that the charms of Hogwarts allows to work. Dumbledore made it that way."

"Good!" Aromi said, as he pulled out another one. "What type is this?"

"A Great Ball, Professor," Ron.

"Correct, and this one?"

"Isn't that an Ultra Ball?" Luna.

"Yes it is," Nozawa said, then turning to the board as he shrank the Pokéballs to their traveling size. The students, having seen it before, weren't as shocked as they were that first time; but this was a new one that he was drawing, that he had only explained in passing. "And this last one, which is just as rare as a Legendary Pokémon? And tell what its special property is, besides the coloring."

"Sir, isn't that a Master Ball? Doesn't it basically guarantee a capture?"

"Well done, all of you," Professor Nozawa said, as he turned to the class, marker down and all Pokéballs out and ready to be opened. "Alright, so are you all ready to meet my friends? And do you all agree to treat them with the same respect you treat me with?"

"Yes, Professor," answered the majority of the class. Minus a few.

"That wasn't everyone; those of you that agreed, thank you. Mr. Malfoy, Mr. Crabbe, Mr. Goyle, Ms. Parvati, you signed the papers. So are you going to agree to these instructions or not?"

After a few moments, the four agreed to do as instructed, albeit reluctantly.

"Excellent! Now, one more thing. No matter what these friends of mine look like, they are just as much your professor as I am. In other words, we are _all_ your teachers. Does that make sense?"

This time, the entire class gave confirmation. Then, with a grin, Aromi enlargened the Pokéballs in his hand and opened them. The class had seen an open, empty Pokéball before; but never before had they seen one actually releasing a Pokémon! This reason was what got some in the back to stand up as the majority of them held their breath to see what would appear. A moment later, standing in those spots, were five completely different, obviously powerful, Pokémon.

"Alright," Aromi said, smiling to his team. His Espeon jumped onto his desk, and turned to sit and calmly watch the class. "I will introduce you all to one of them; the other four will be your duty to figure out, and we'll get to that in a second. When you do it, follow my example. The one on the desk is an Espeon, and she is a psychic type.

"That's how you are to introduce these other four. Girls, you will do this one, and this one. Boys, you will do the other two. You have three minutes. Go!"

With that, a flurry of movement as textbooks were removed. During this, Aromi went over to his desk, and leaned against it. The entire time, he was conversing with Espeon through telepathy, while the other four waited patiently. Once time was up, he took center stage again.

"Alright, girls, what'd you find for this one?" He began, gesturing to the large bird standing there patiently and calmly. Some hands went up, and he picked one of the Slytherin girls, Ms. Janie.

"That Pokémon is a Pidgeot, isn't it? And it's part-flying, part-normal?"

"Good work," Nozawa said, before quickly writing down her species' name and nickname. "She likes to be called Sara. Now what about the second?"

"Sir, isn't that one a Luxray, an electric-type?"

The Professor affirmed this answer, and then wrote down her nickname as 'Kyashii'. They moved on to the ones the boys had looked up, and learned that the Lucario was named... Lucario. While the Empoleon preferred 'Rikku'. Then the man turned to his class again.

"Don't forget, you are to refer to these five as your Professors, just as you do with me," Aromi reminded his students calmly.

A sudden noise from Kyashii cut him short, and he paused to listen to her. Not a single student understood, but he seemed to. "Okay, who?"

Another few moments. Then a gentle smile."

"Ms. Granger, please come forward," He said. Said student hesitated, but he was adamant. "C'mon, don't be shy."

Swallowing her shyness, Hermione stood and stepped forward. When she was close enough, Kyashii gave a knowing smile, causing the girl's eyes to show confusion. The Luxray just nuzzled her hand; Hermione smiled as her feeling timid left as she started to gently pet the creature like she would Crookshanks. Her reward was a purring and pleased Pokémon.

"Now, Professor, what is with this favoritism?" Malfoy suddenly sneered, making Aromi laugh.

"I didn't do anything," He said. Kyashii spoke to him quickly before he said anything else. "All I did was relay the message. She wants me to tell you that she specifically asked for Ms. Granger. I had nothing to do with it."

"How can a –"

"Mr. Malfoy," Aromi said, suddenly becoming serious. "If you wish to remain unharmed, I would suggest that you not say another word." Then he smiled again. "Although, there is a way for you to understand some of these guys. Lucario?"

A moment or two of silence passed before the Pokémon sighed and turned to the class. After surveying it for a moment, he went over to Ginny. And did something to bring a lot of students' jaws crashing to the floor.

_Hello, milady,_ Said a strong, confident voice to the class. _What would your name be?_

"Uhm... Ginny," Said the girl, trying to be confident. A moment later, her bravery took over and she spoke a little more confidently. "I'm Ginny Weasley."

_Are the other redheads perhaps your siblings?_

"Yes, they are... this is telepathy, isn't it?" Lucario immediantly gave a soft smile. He liked this girl.

_Yes, it is,_ He said, speaking to her privately.

For another few minutes, they spoke quietly, with Lucario eventually heading back to the front but keeping their telepathy connection strong. Aromi opened his mouth to say something, but snapped it shut when Espeon suddenly went to the floor, moved quickly, and leapt up to the space right in front of none other than Harry Potter. She took a moment to lay down and calmly size him up in silence, before saying hello herself. The two of them began to converse silently as well, but what Harry didn't know, was that Nozawa was alerted of something by the psychic-type. Nobody noticed though, because he kept a straight face.

"Alright, class, that's all the time we have for today!" Aromi said as the sound for a class change rang through the school. "You are all dismissed. Except for Mr. Potter and Mr. Weasley. You two must stay."

The two boys exchanged glances as the Pokémon took up various seats in the classroom, Espeon going back to her original spot on her trainer's desk. Which was where he now was. Once the room was empty, he motioned them forward. The minute Harry was in reach, the professor held out his hand expectantly.

"Give me your hand, Mr. Potter," He said. Several syllables from Espeon later, he spoke again. "I just need to confirm it, so calm down."

With a huff, the Pokémon sat down and waited.

_Go on, give him your hand,_ Espeon told Harry with her mind.

_You noticed?_ He asked, as he finally gave up and showed his hand. Nozawa gently took hold of it and looked at it carefully, frowning.

"Yes, she noticed," He said. "And I'm glad she did..."

_This is Umbitch's work, isn't it?_ Espeon asked her trainer curtly, privately. His lips almost formed a smirk at the new nickname. Almost.

_No doubt about it, but just to be sure..._ "Hold still a moment, Mr. Potter."

With a wave of Aromi's wand, a small, pink whisp came off the boy's hand. The man's frown deepened. Then with a sigh he grabbed a piece of parchment and a quill, before pocketing the paper. He stood and headed towards the door.

"Mr. Potter, Mr. Weasley, come with me, and yes, Espeon, you may come," Nozawa said. At this, the pink-furred feline beamed and quickly caught up, as did the boys.

"Sir, we have Divination class to get to," Ron said. _Not that I want to go that much..._

"Then you'll be missing some of it. Don't worry, I'll give you two a pass so your tardiness will be excused."

"Sir, why are we missing some of it?" Harry asked.

Professor Nozawa didn't answer; rather, he merely continued leading the boys through the hallways, his trusty Pokémon at his side the entire time...

* * *

**Credits:** No songs to give credit to this time.

**A/N:** Mwa ha ha! How's that for a cliffhanger? Anyway, tell me what you think of how Aromi approached this class. Other than that, reviews are well-loved! :)


	5. Chapter 5

**A/N:** Well, here's Chapter Five. It came a little later than the others 'cause I'm busy with x-mas travels and family visits. Silly x-mas! Although the presents make up for the trouble... :P

Oh, well. Onwards! By the way, there's another time skip here. To this story's equivalent of Chapter Eight Hokage Lizy-Sama's story.

Except better. (Just kidding! :P)

_GirXzimXfanatic:_ Probably. They're just polite, so they don't.

_Ultima:_ Of course he did. He's just that awesome. :D

_CJWrites:_ Yay, someone who enjoys his "Don't mess with me" persona. ^-^ Also, if he does know other Pokémon, you'll find out. ;u

_JBCoolman:_ Good! ^-^

* * *

_**Chapter Five**_

_Stand Back! I'm Going to Try Science._

"Professor Nozawa, you look absolutely giddy," Minerva McGonnagal said to her colleague. The man she was talking to was finding it difficult to keep his now trademark grin off his face. Not to mention he just couldn't stop fidgeting in his seat at the staff table during lunch. "Must I give you a Calming Drought?"

"I believe, Minerva," Headmaster Dumbledore began. "That there is no point in that. I honestly doubt it would have any effect at all, considering what he is probably planning for today's lesson."

"Oh how right you are, Headmaster," Nozawa said, his excitement _almost_ getting the better of him. If it had, he would've gone into a tirade of words. The Luxray at his side, since having been revealed to his classes, was now allowed to be with him at all times, like his Espeon when he had dragged Harry and Ron to Dumbledore's two weeks ago...

"_Sir, why are we at the Headmaster's office?" Harry asked, dreading the answer – but he got none until they had entered the room._

"_Headmaster, we need to talk," Nozawa said, his Espeon quickly racing and going around the room with wonder and curiosity. "And Espeon, don't touch anything unless he says it's alright."_

"_It's alright," Dumbledore said, chuckling politely. "It would be difficult for her to break anything. Now, my friend, what is it you wish to talk about?"_

Yay!_ Espeon cut in, dashing around to the first that held her curiosity. _Thanks!

"_Now it'll take forever to calm her down..." Nozawa muttered, holding his face in his hands for a moment, despite the smile on his face. Then he looked up and became serious. "It has to do with Professor Umbridge. Would you be so kind as to call her here?"_

"_How does this involve her?" Dumbledore asked, becoming serious. His eyes continued to twinkle with amusement, however, as Espeon playfully prodded the Sorting Hat, trying to figure out why she felt a mental presence from it. "And my dear, I think you would have more fun with putting it on your head."_

_Espeon's face brightened even more, if possible, and she did as suggested. She immediantly squeaked with surprise, then began to purr quietly. Clearly, the Sorting Hat's mind-to-mind talk had captured here interest and was going to hold it for a while._

"_That'll keep her busy," Nozawa said gratefully, chuckling inwardly. "This involves Professor Umbridge and her treatment of Mr. Potter in his detention. I have reason to believe she is resorting to more-or-less illegal methods."_

"_What proof do you have?"_

"_Mr. Potter, show him your hand, please."_

_Harry looked to the Headmaster, clearly unwilling to do so._

Go on,_ Espeon suddenly cut in, as she paused in her talk with the hat. _Show him. It'll help.

_Harry, ready to remain adamant, gave in after another moment. That little Pokémon was sounding very motherly to him: gentle and kind, simply wishing the best for him. It was almost as if she _was_ a mother from how well she used that voice._

"_...This _is_ illegal, isn't it?" Nozawa asked for clarification, as the Headmaster inspected the wound carefully._

"_I'm afraid so," He said, then turned to a portrait in his room, and requested them to fetch the other new professor._

"_A blood quill, right?"_

"_Yes, indeed it is. We will have to wait for her to arrive. Until then, Mr. Potter, Mr. Weasley, please, have a seat."_

_With a wave of his wand, Dumbledore created two new chairs for the two students, to which they sat in gratefully. The growing tension in the air was easier to withstand sitting down. While they waited, however, they were given the right to listen to a strange conversation between the two adults._

"_So, Headmaster," Aromi began, looking at Espeon, who was swishing her tail in content as she talked to the live hat atop her head. "Have you conversed with your partner recently?"_

"_Yes, we have talked," the old man said, chuckling. "He is a very interesting creature to talk with."_

"_Remind me what kind he is."_

"_I believe you said that it was a Zatu."_

"_Ah, yes," Nozawa said, recalling it at last, then looked up to Espeon with a small smile. "So, Espeon, what house have you been sorted into?"_

"_Gryffindor is the house for this one," the hat replied with an amused tone. "I must say, she has an interesting mind, for such a strange creature."_

_Then there was a knock on the door, and the tension thickened again as Dumbledore allowed Umbridge in. The instant she stepped in and up to the desk, it was easy to notice the way she tried to hide her nervousness at noticing the occupants of the room._

"_My dear," Dumbledore began, very serious. "I would like to ask why it is you thought it would be acceptable to punish my student with a Blood Quill."_

"_Well, it seemed to be the only fitting punishment," Umbridge said, trying to be confident. The glare from Nozawa was cutting her attempts in half very quickly. "I had to get through to him."_

"_Headmaster, may I?" Aromi asked, and continued at the confirming nod, then turned to his colleague, his eyes hard and cold and merciless. His voice only amplified the frightening look. "Professor Umbridge, I may be a foreigner, but from what I have read, Blood Quills are considered illegal. This is because of the fact that, if use is continued, whatever the victim writes becomes permanently scarred on their flesh. Please, explain to me why you felt that you are above the law enough to be allowed the use of this illegal item?"_

"_W-Well... the b-boy's been spreading l-lies about You-Know-Who being alive again," Umbridge said, stuttering and struggling. "If i-it continues, then t-the Minis-stry will h-have to deal w-with the repurcussions..."_

"_So? From what I've seen, the Ministry has been using the Daily Prophet to disprove what he says, anyway," Aromi said. "Are you telling me that such a thing isn't enough, being publically humiliated and discounted by the Minister himself?"_

"_H-He continues to s-state such lies, even so!"_

"_Then he deserves to be Gryffindor, for standing by what he believes. Professor, I am hearing nothing but the lamest of excuses for why you forced Mr. Potter to suffer through the use of a Blood Quill, an item that the Minister himself considers illegal. If you are an undersecretary of the Minister, you should already know this; yet you forced a student to use one. Do you have any legitimate reason for this?"_

"_W-Why... h-how dare you, presume you understand our politics and culture!"_

_Umbridge, enraged, whipped out her short, fat wand that matched her in ugliness. Before she could do anything else, however, she was knocked onto her back. When she next looked up, she found that Espeon's eyes were glowing threateningly, and said Pokémon's trainer had his wand out in return. He now held his colleague's wand in his spare hand._

Do not touch my trainer,_ Espeon told her coldly. Despite the Sorting Hat having never left the creature's head, and how it should have made her look ridiculous... somehow, the Pokémon only looked more fearsome. _Or I will bring you down.

"_W-What is this... this... _**thing**_?" Umbridge demanded harshly, her hatred for non-humans shining brightly in her voice and countenance._

"_My dear," Dumbledore said, his voice calm. The students shivered, noticing the harsh, cold sound hiding behind the sweetness. "I would suggest that you not insult this brilliant creature. I can confirm for you that she is, indeed, very dangerous. Now, considering the fact that you have not only harmed my student willingly, but you have also used an illegal item, I am relieving you of the duty of Harry's detention."_

"_W-What? You can't!"_ _Umbridge said, standing and looking affronted._

"_He's the Headmaster," Nozawa said, Espeon still standing before him protectively. Though she was no longer preparing an attack, she was still ready to pounce. "He can do that if he wishes, and Espeon, stand down."_

_The Pokémon, after giving the ugly toad a threatening growl, leapt back up to the Sorting Hat's nook. There she sat down, and began to silently converse with it again, and listened carefully. Soon it was found that Harry's detention was moved to be with Professor Nozawa, and Professor Umbridge was stripped of her power to do so. Even though she was soon given the High Inquisitor status, Dumbledore remained adamant and restricted her abilities as a professor, and kept her under close watch._

"Aromi, my friend," Dumbledore said, ending said man's trip down memory lane. Despite the somewhat solemn theme of it, his happy mood never ended. "You may leave early, if you wish."

"Oh, thank you, Headmaster!" Nozawa exclaimed, quickly leaving the hall in the fastest pace he could manage that still counted as walking. Kyashii, smiling to herself about her trainer, followed closely.

_I will travel across the land,_

_Searching far and wide._

"Why do you think Professor Nozawa is so excited?" Hermione asked her friends at their lunch table.

"Dunno," Ron said. "George's friends say that they aren't allowed to say anything, so we'll have to find out when we get there."

"Speaking of me," George – or was that Fred? – said, cutting in. "Harry, you never told us what happened with you and Umbridge."

"Oh, well," The Boy-Who-Lived said. Then after taking a moment to decide, explained what had happened, and Ron confirmed it.

"What did he make you do?" The other twin asked.

"Just made me help clean his classroom. He never let me near his office, for some reason. Said it would be bad for my health for some reason."

"He _is_ weird," Fred said. "But he's bloody awesome for taking on Umbridge like that!"

"And it _is_ time to go to his class," Ginny cut in as she walked by, heading to that very classroom.

With that, a flurry of motion happened at the golden trio's table, as they all grabbed their stuff. Ron shoved one last bite into his mouth right before he raced off with his friends. Thanks to his sister's warning, they got to the class and sat down in time. The man was nowhere to be seen until a full minute after the bell had rung. When he came out of his office at last, he was carrying one box while his Lucario was carrying another. The man seemed to be having a bit of a tough time, but the Pokémon wasn't even phased when they set the boxes down on the teacher's desk. There, he let the creature stand nearby and watch patiently with Espeon, who was on the desk as well.

"Class, today will be very fun for all of you!" Professor Nozawa said after the initial introduction. "I need a volunteer!"

There were a few moments of silence. Then some more. Rolling his eyes, he turned to his Pokémon.

"Okay, nobody's volunteered; you two get to choose," He said to the Lucario and Espeon. They looked at each other, and an evil grin appeared almost instantly as the silently conversed. Nozawa, to his credit, didn't pale like some of the students. Rather, he rolled his eyes. "No!"

The two stared at him pleadingly, and after a few moments, he sighed. And gave in, making them promise to be gentle. An instant later, Harry was being telepathically lifted from his seat and carefully brought to the front of the room. Once he was hovering only a couple of inches from the floor, he was dropped. Somewhat carefully. The two perpetrators were grinning evilly, with Espeon giggling and Lucario silently chuckling. The boy was left sitting there, with his butt sore from the slightly-harsh landing. The teacher sighed and rolled his eyes, holding out his hand to the boy while the class chuckled and giggled.

"Sorry, but once they have an idea, it's difficult to get them out of it," Aromi said, helping him up, as he glared at the guilty party. They just looked away and seemed to whistle innocently. "They've been like that for quite some time; can't get them out of it. I'm sure they remind you of a couple people."

"Yeah, Fred and George," Harry said before he could stop himself. Then he kind of looked a little surprised at his outburst, but most of the class laughed. Especially the two mentioned, and the two Pokémon perpetrators grinned to their human counterparts, whom only returned the expression.

"Alright, then," Aromi said, letting his grin shrink to a smile, as he held out a Pokéball. "Take it. This isn't an ordinary one; it's enchanted. The one that comes out reflects upon your personality. By the end of this period, we will see everyone's personality in the physical form of a non-legendary Pokémon. You're just the first, that's all. So, go on, let's find out."

Harry carefully took a hold of the item, and as it began to vibrate slowly, his mind started to race. What Pokémon was he most like? He hoped he wasn't a Magikarp... the class had been made to memorize the first one-hundred-fifty-one Pokémon, and so those were the only ones he could think of. He didn't notice that Nozawa had opened the two boxes and pulled one thing from each. As the strange electronic kept shaking and getting more violent in its movement, it threatened to break from his grip, but he had the feeling that it was magically attatched to his hands to keep that from dropping it. At last, it froze, and his mind with it. A couple of tense, anxious moments passed – then it snapped open. And the white light they'd seen from the professor's Pokéballs weeks before appeared and began to take form. Nozawa seemed to recognize immediantly, and smirked to Lucario, who, to his credit, kept a straight face. If he hadn't, a blush most certainly would've appeared, for the Pokémon partner chosen for the famous Harry Potter was none other than Riolu, whom was now looking at the one it was chosen for.

"Harry, this is Riolu," Nozawa said politely, calmly, as he knew how to do this. "Go on, say hello."

"Umm... hi, Riolu," Harry said, trying to swallow his nervousness, as he tried to smile warmly.

"Riolu!" Exclaimed the Pokémon, smiling kindly. This made the fifteen-year-old's smile become a little warmer, as the creature stepped closer.

"Harry, here," Nozawa said, getting the boy's attention and handing over two items. One was another Pokéball, while the other was only talked about in passing. "The other item's the newest Pokédex. Talk to Riolu at his eye level, and tell him what you're about to do; it's important to build their trust immediantly."

So, Harry knelt and met the Pokémon's eye. He could tell how much trust that immediantly built. Not much, but it was a good start. Then he quietly explained, and paused every now and then to make sure the little guy was keeping up, and he was. Once that was done, the boy used the 'dex to find out about him. It was confirmed that the Riolu was, indeed, male; and, Harry learned, was able to evolve into a Lucario like the one by Nozawa's desk. Then, the little Pokémon allowed his new trainer to use the Pokéball on him, and was soon confirmed captured.

"Thank you for that enlightening experience, Mr. Potter," Professor Nozawa said with a gentle smile, coming over and helping the boy to stand. "I suggest you go back to your desk and let Riolu sit on it by you; let him watch the rest of the class with you."

Harry nodded, a little dazed at the sudden new turn in his life. Once he was at his desk, he did as was suggested, and told his new partner what to do. The creature nodded, and sat down, watching with great interest, making the school's newest trainer smile to himself as he did the same. Then, when the class was asked for a volunteer once more, many hands shot up. The professor waved his wand at his desk, and his Pokémon told him something in private.

"Ron Weasley, you're up!" Aromi said with a smile. The groans from the rest of the class made him roll his eyes. "I had known this would happen, people; so I set up a board on my desk that checks off people that have gone, and sees when more than one person raises their hand. When I wave my wand at it, it randomly selects someone, so don't get made it me; the selection was completely random. Mr. Weasley was simply lucky."

At this point, the redhead was at the front of the class, and went through the same process as his friend. Soon enough, the ball opened and revealed a Caterpie. Some students chuckled under their breath, and Nozawa did nothing to stop it – but he did make them keep it quiet. He had Ron do the same as Harry did, and the redhead was soon back at his desk, Pokémon by his side. As time went by, several people learned of their partners. Fred and George found themselves having a Minun and Plusle, respectively. It fit, considering how they were twins and the two Pokémon practically were as well. Ginny received a Feebas. She had been embarrassed at first, but when Aromi showed her the evolved form, and she realized that she could have her Pokémon evolve – and that said creature wanted to – she was pleased. Hermione had gotten a Cyndaquil, actually. Nozawa had told her that he would show her the evolved form in person when he got the chance. Malfoy had, almost completely by the professor's prediction, received a Seviper. Which had easily been tamed by the boy, since the Pokémon instantly recognized their similar personalities and grew a liking to the Slytherin student right away. At the end of class, everyone had their Pokémon partners. Once he let them all take a moment to get used to the idea of having one, Professor Nozawa took center stage again and got their attention.

"Alright," He began with a smile. "Now it is _your_ duty to take care of your partners. I have already had instructions delivered to your beds depending on what Pokémon you received; they will detail what you need to do. From this moment on, when you enter the classroom, you are to put away your wand and release your partner from their Pokéball; no exceptions! As of now, magic is not to be used unless I say so, and that rule is _not_ up for debate.

"If you wish to have a partner that trusts you," He continued. "I would suggest keeping them out at all times. However, Mr. Malfoy, there is another student in this school with a Zangoose. I must require of you to return your Seviper the very instant you see that Pokémon. If you do not understand why, I would suggest that you do your research; I am not going to give you the answer. Other than that, for the next couple of days, we will be covering a completely new subject. At the end of the week, I have a special treat planned for all of you, if all goes well. It is a special event planned for this Saturday afternoon at the Quidditch field."

"But, sir!" Harry exclaimed. "Quidditch tryouts are at that time!"

"Then they're going to be moved to a different time," Nozawa replied, although he was gentle. "That field is reserved for me at that time, and I refuse to cut any slack. It is vital that the event occur there; this school has no better place for it. After all, where else can I ensure that all of the students are safe and still enjoy what will happen?"

There was silence to that.

"Alright, then, you're all dismissed," Aromi said. Then he continued as they stood to leave. "And nobody should be using any magic whatsoever on their Pokémon! No excuses! If you want to be a proper trainer, you must do it the way I did: no magic! Other than that, I will see you all tomorrow."

With that, the students shuffled out of the room, heading to their next class, all of them keeping their new partners out as they talked to them and introduced them to their human friends. The Pokémon were all taking it in stride happily, clearly excited about being with the trainer that they matched with so well. Professor Nozawa, having talked to the Headmaster already, was currently looking forward for what he had planned this Saturday. If only the next four days would pass a little more quickly...

* * *

**Credits:** Song lyrics from the Pokémon Theme, and yes, I have that song in my iTunes library.

**A/N:** Alright, reviews tell me what you think! And take guesses as to what the surprise event is! =D


	6. Chapter 6

**A/N:** Boo-yah! Another chapter! Being with my young cousins and their insanity actually helps me brainstorm! Who knew 11-year-old and 8-year-old kids could do that? ^-^

_GirX:_ Dude, you totally get a cookie. *gives cookie*

_Sensibly:_ That's okay, just look at and you'll learn. =)

_Taen:_ Thanks. =)

* * *

_**Chapter Six**_

_Obey Gravity. It's the Law!_

"When did you say she was coming?"

"She will arrive around lunchtime. You need not worry yourself."

"...Although it's entertaining to see, right?"

"Indeed it is, Aromi."

"Ha ha, that's okay, Headmaster."

At this point, the two men were heading off to the Great Hall, where lunch was being served. It was the day before the planned surprise, and the other part of it was supposed to be at Hogwarts today. As the two professors entered the hall and headed to the staff table, other things were going on outside.

_It was twenty years ago today,_

_Sgt. Pepper taught the band to play._

When a solid _thump_ sounded nearby, the old professor keeping watch jumped slightly, then turned to where it had come from. There, laying on the grass and clearly unwilling to move, was the visitor.

"Hello," said the professor, making the lady look at her, holding out a bracelet for her. "How do you feel?"

"Well... until the world stops spinning, I think I'll stay here," came the reply once the bracelet was on. The other woman's voice was strong, despite the fact that she was obviously feeling queasy. After another couple of moments, said person forced herself to stand and, to her credit, didn't wobble. "That's better. Would you be Professor McGonnagal?"

"Yes, I am," said the wizened witch. "And would I be correct in assuming you are Cynthia?"

"That's right."

"Alright, then please follow me."

The entire trip, the two ladies talked, and soon they made it into the castle. McGonnagal went ahead and entered the hall first, with Cynthia waiting outside. The old professor talked with the headmaster, and waved her wand towards the door. The visitor was shown a little message that said to enter. So she did. The instant she stepped in, she sensed all of the students' eyes on her. She expertly ignored it. One man at the staff table, however, had her attention and made her smirk as she began to stride forward. The high heels clicking on the floor instantly caught the man's attention; the instant he recognized the person, a grin appeared and he leapt from his seat and headed to the lady quickly.

"Cynthia!" He said, giving her a high-five once in reach. "What's up?"

"Not much, just got the oddest message the other day," She said, her smirk widening to a smile. "You got everything planned?"

"It's all ready for tomorrow," Nozawa replied. "All that's left is the two of us being ready. You hungry?"

"Actually, yeah," Cynthia said, looking around. "What've you got?"

"Over here."

The two continued to talk animatedly, taking off their bracelets to make sure nobody understood their plans as they ate. Nozawa's Luxray was nearby, napping again after saying hello to the other Pokémon Trainer. Despite the fact that the lady was new, both she and Professor Nozawa gave an air of power and gave the sense that they demanded respect. Which, considering the professor, they probably did. Now everybody wondered what the plan for that Saturday afternoon was.

_They've been going in and out of style,_

_But they're guaranteed to raise a smile._

"Hello, Hogwarts!" Professor Nozawa exclaimed to the Great Hall during lunch, a good grin on his countenance. The majority of the students returned the gesture. Every student had been told to be there at the time to learn about an interesting event. "Those of you in my class have been going through a rather unique subject recently: Pokémon battles."

The student body began to whisper, and the man let it go for about half a minute. His students were confirming it to their interested friends.

"Those of you who don't know what it is, you can ask on the way. Where are we going, you ask? Simple: we're heading to the Quidditch field."

"But what about tryouts?" Exclaimed one boy.

"Moved to tomorrow," Aromi said. The instant the groans and shouts appeared, he took control. "I didn't say they were completely canceled, did I?"

The students fell quiet, muttering still.

"You can still tryout; they've only been moved one day ahead. Think of it as more time to practice for them!"

The students' muttering made sounds of agreement. The man's grin went wider.

"Good! Everyone, please go out there when Headmaster Dumbledore feels it is time. Professor Flitwick, are the barriers prepared?"

"Yes, they are," Flitwick said politely, nodding.

"Thank you, professor," Nozawa said, turning to the rest of the hall. "I'm sure you will enjoy it, so just be patient."

With that, he and Cynthia left the hall for the field, and left the students wondering what was going to happen, as they explained to their friends what the recent studies of the class was.

_So may I introduce to you,_

_The act you've known all these years:_

_Sgt. Pepper's Lonely Hearts Club Band!_

"What do you think this has to do with what we've been studying recently?" Hermione asked, Cyndaquil walking by her and talking to Riolu and Caterpie.

"Dunno, probably gonna make us battle each other," Ron said, fairly pessimistic.

"Are you sure he think's we're ready?" Harry asked, looking at Riolu. "Actually, what do you think, Riolu?"

The little guy took a moment to think, then shook his head. The two of them agreed: they weren't quite ready for a battle. Although, when they got out to the field, they found everyone being directed how to enter without activating the barriers. The students of Professor Nozawa's class were directed to be in the front row, and all the other professors made sure it happened. Then, when everyone was finally settled in, and the students' Pokémon were in their spots and curious as to how this related to their current class subject, Headmaster Dumbledore began to speak using the _Sonorus_ spell.

"Welcome, students, to a special treat organized by our very own Professor Nozawa," Dumbledore began calmly. "To those of you not attending his classes, allow me to summarize what is to happen. It is what is called a Pokémon battle. I am sure all of you know what a Pokémon is at this point; a battle is where two trainers use the Pokémon they have trained to battle each other. Do not worry; while it is true that the creatures are harmed, they have astoundingly strong wills and are difficult to kill. If anything, nothing short of the killing curse will take away their life."

As he spoke, Aromi and Cynthia stepped onto the field, bearing all six of their own Pokéballs, and waited for the headmaster to finish.

"What you are about to witness, students, is a battle of the most epic proportions. Cynthia is the champion of one of the many regions of their land, and Nozawa is capable of matching her in battle prowess. I must ask that none of you panic. The barriers set around the field have several layers, and are more than enough to protect you. If, by some unfortunate chance, they break, these two trainers and their teams will still not harm you. Now, allow me to introduce the contestants today. Our visitor, Miss Cynthia, is over on the Hugglepuff and Ravenclaw end; Professor Nozawa is at the end of Gryffindor and Slytherin. Now, contestants, please prepare for a six-on-six battle!"

"Oh, dear Professor," Cynthia began, smiling charmingly with a wink, taking out a Pokéball to be ready for the signal. "Don't hold back on me, mmkay~?"

"Don't worry, dear champion," Aromi answered, doing the same with a smile. "I won't hold back if you won't~!"

"Bah, this'll be a bore," Malfoy muttered to his friends and to Seviper. The Pokémon, unlike the humans, disagreed; they could sense the power of the trainers before them.

"Are you two ready?" Dumbledore began, sitting as he spoke. They nodded calmly. Nobody knew of the storm that was coming. Aside from the headmaster, of course. "Begin!"

_BAM!_ In an instant, both Pokéballs were open. The trainers had rather dark looks, and their aura of light friendliness practically didn't exist any longer. Aside from Voldemort himself, there was perhaps nothing more frightening as the power and merciless air that hovered around the two trainers. All of the rookies in the audience immediantly had their 'dexes out and found out that the current Pokémon out was a Garchomp and Aromi's Rikku, an Empoleon. They had met in mid-air, their arms colliding powerfully, even though the release light was still around them. The two seperated harshly and didn't even have both feet on the arena before orders were given.

"Garchomp!" Cynthia exclaimed, that menacing aura never leaving her. The earth was practically breaking from it.

"Rikku!" Aromi was practically the same.

"GIGA IMPACT!" This the order from both trainers.

The Pokémon launched off that single foot, and in the space of a split second, collided again, fully empowered.

_It's wonderful to be here,_

_It's certainly a thrill._

"Bloody hell..." Ron whispered, as the two trainers before them continued to fight at their all. "They really aren't holding back..."

Despite being one of the better seekers at Hogwarts, even Harry had a difficult time keeping an eye on what was happening. Thank the Gods he'd brought his Omnioculars! Riolu had convinced him to bring it, and he planned to view the play-by-play he was currently recording. As he struggled to keep up, Riolu's eyes were wide, and only went wider when Cynthia's Garchomp fell at last but was immediantly replaced with a Lucario. Rikku, despite looking worn down, fought on just as hard as before. Right after doing a nice amount of damage, he fell, and was immediantly replaced with Espeon.

"This is insane!" Hermione said quietly, Cyndaquil mumbling his agreement. "How can they process things so quickly?"

Nobody bothered to answer. Nobody had one in the first place.

_I don't really want to stop the show,_

_But I thought you might like to know._

A full ten minutes had passed. Both of the incredibly strong trainers had given it their all, and were just about down to their last Pokémon. Aromi had only his Luxray and a mystery one left, while Cynthia had Togekiss and her own mystery.

"Thunder!" Aromi ordered. Not a single moment had passed with the two trainers' aura of sheer power leaving.

"Hyper Beam!" Cynthia countered.

Both attacks were charged at an insanely fast pace, and fired not a moment later. They had shot at the exact same time. The Thunder hit Togekiss at just the right spot, while Kyashii was hit in the chest with the powerful beam. They both fell the instant the attacks died away and were returned.

"You did well, Kyashii," Aromi told his beloved Luxray through the object. Then he pulled out his last Pokéball. "Well, this is it, Cynthia."

"It's been a great battle," replied the champion, ready with her final team member. "Let's finish it."

She released her Milotic. Aromi waited a moment, then decided to go ahead and shock his students with this little surprise. The creature that formed from his Ultra Ball made Hermione gasp, the only one to memorize the names and images of every single Pokémon listed in the text book.

"It can't be!" The girl exclaimed.

"What is it?" Ron asked, Harry listening as well.

"That's Dialga, the legendary Pokémon that controls time itself! I thought he said he didn't know anything about them!"

Despite the impressive creature being in her smaller form, the Dialga obviously still had plenty of power. And Cynthia, nor Milotic, were worried. At all. They held no fear whatsoever as the trainers began to fight once more. Only a couple of minutes passed before the water-type fell, but not without doing plenty of damage to the temporal Pokémon. Even so, the legendary refused to risk her dignity by falling in front of such an impressively large crowd. But she did allow her trainer to use a man-made healing item on her that closed over her wounds and restored her health completely. Cynthia revived her Milotic, as she and Aromi stepped forward to meet in the middle of the field with their Pokémon at their side. Milotic congratulated Algida on her victory, while the legendary gave the water-type compliments for trying so hard.

"Well done," Aromi said to Cynthia, shaking her hand.

"Same to you," replied the champion. They released hands a moment later. "We're going to stay until my team's all rested, right?"

"Yup."

"Good; they need it."

"So does my team."

They stopped conversing when the student body erupted into applause out of nowhere. The trainers grinned to each other and their Pokémon beside them. Then they turned to the crowd and waved for a few moments before turning to Dumbledore, whom had come down and congratulated them on the battle, while thanking them for such an impressive display of prowess. Aromi, while stating his thanks for the compliment, noticed Umbridge's countenance. She was completely pale; it was obvious she didn't want to threaten her colleague ever again after seeing his abilities.

She had a set of Omnioculars as well, and had recorded the entire thing for the Minister to see it. Bloody hell he'd be impressed. The students certainly were. As the Professor Nozawa, Headmaster Dumbledore, and Cynthia headed back into the castle talking animatedly with the Pokémon talking to each other and following, the students were left speechless. Even as they were guided back into the castle to relax for the rest of the day. Later that day, Harry and his friends viewed what his magical binoculars had recorded, and were left speechless again. Even on those things, the battle was difficult keep track of. Every student had, officially, been given a new perspective to view Professor Nozawa from...

* * *

**Credits:** Song lyrics from "Sgt. Pepper's Lonely Hearts Club Band" by The Beatles.

**A/N:** Oh yeah! Big badass battle! If you want a good visual of what the battle kind of looked like, please see "Pokemon Diamond and Pearl Adventures" volume six. It is written and drawn by Shigekatsu Ihara. That volume should have a good image of Cynthia facing a trainer mirroring Nozawa, in terms of battle prowess. Anyway, review to tell me what you think! ^-^


	7. Chapter 7

**A/N:** Hello, all! Yeah, it's been a couple of days since the last update, but hey, it's the holidays and I'm doing a bunch of travelling. Like a lot of the other crazy people in this world. Other than that, this is Chapter 7 at last, and Nozawa's students are still kinda shocked about his battling skill. For those of you who despise people who are good at everything (like Nozawa at this point), have no fear! There'll be some things he's no good at. Which will be revealed very soon. Maybe even in this chapter! Either way, thanks to all the reviewers and I hope you enjoy this chapter! ^-^

* * *

_**Chapter Seven**_

_In Soviet Russia, Zero Divides by You!_

"How are you guys feeling?" Nozawa asked his team, as they all relaxed in his office. He'd long since used Full Restores on them, with plenty of 'em to spare. They still needed their rest, though. "Better?"

There was a quiet chorus of what sounded like, to him, as confirmation to his inquires. Algida, the Dialga basking in the sunlight with Espeon on her head, opened one eye to look at her trainer. The warm smile on his countenance was gentle and inviting, and it only made her smile in return. He noticed her watching him and nodded to her. She just nodded slightly in return, closing her eye once more.

"Actually, Algida," Nozawa began. "Think you could come into the classroom today?"

_Well..._ The Dialga began to say, considering it. _As long as those brats treat me with the respect I deserve._

"And if they don't...?"

An evil, mischievious grin immediantly appeared on Algida's lips, and that just made Aromi roll his eyes. He nodded, though.

"Want to come down to breakfast with me?"

_Sure,_ Algida said, rolling her eyes up towards where Espeon was on her head. Aromi headed out of his office/bedroom to the classroom, making sure everything was ready for that day's lesson. _Espeon... hey, Espeon. Unless you want to sleep on a bumpy ride, you'd better get off._

_Mmmm..._ Espeon moaned quietly, forcing one eye open, then the other. _Aw, man... you're so warm! Where are you going, anyway?_

_Breakfast._

_With Aromi?_

_No, with Santa Claus._

_In that case, I'm staying right here to stay warm,_ Espeon replied to Algida's sarcasm, returning the favor completely.

_Oh, just get off!_

Espeon giggled as she leapt onto her trainer's bed beside Kyashii, whom didn't move. Algida rolled her eyes at her teammate, then headed towards the door. Aromi, on the other side of it, sensed her approach to it and opened it for her. Thankfully, Dumbledore had foreseen the possibility of his new professor having such a large Pokémon. As a result, it was easy for her to get out into the hallway. Following her trainer, she finally got to see the hallways of Hogwarts for herself. The rest of the team, since they weren't legendary Pokémon like her, they had told her about it. Due to her status, Aromi had decided not to reveal her precense until the right moment. Which had ended up being Saturday's battle. The team had taken all of Sunday to rest up, while the students got over the shock of his and Cynthia's abilities – speaking of her, she was no longer in the building, having head home via portkey – and get their homework done. Oh, and they had Quidditch tryouts. Although Professor Nozawa had reserved it for a day later in the week.

_Wow, these moving paintings really are kind of weird, _Algida said rather abruptly. The brusque manner of her statement made her trainer laugh for a moment.

"Yeah, they kinda are," he agreed with a grin to her. She just rolled her eyes.

_I hear there's a big library here. Have you gone to it yet?_

"Not yet. Haven't had the time."

_Yeah, those classes _do_ seem to take a lot of your time._

"Not as much as they used to. By winter break the students shouldn't need my help as much."

_You're going to use the class time to have them train?_

"I haven't totally decided yet, but with the way things are going, I'll probably end up doing that."

Algida nodded, and was about to say more when she spotted the moving staircases. Right as one moved. She froze, mouth agape. Aromi immediantly noticed and laughed. At her expense, of course. She glared daggers at him; sadly, all her daggers seemed to be coated in liquid laughing gas, because he just laughed a little more enthusiastically. She gave up and sighed as she caught up to him and followed his lead to the Great Hall for some food.

_Welcome back winter once again,_

_And put on your warm fuzzy sweater._

"Bloody hell," Ron said upon entering the Hall. There, by Nozawa, was the impressively powerful Dialga. "There it is again! That... that... Pokémon!"

"Dialga," Hermione supplied, as she and her two friends sat in their seats. The other three Weasleys in their class came over.

"Did we..." Fred began. The Minun on his head helped in identifying him.

"Hear you..." George continued. Plusle grinned. She loved it when her trainer and his brother did this; it was just so entertaining! Rather predictably, Minun agreed.

"Correctly?"

"Is that Pokémon...

"Really Dialga?"

"Either that or a Ditto," Harry intervened. Although all he did was answer their question rather than stop their antics. At last, Harry noticed Riolu's current expression: it was that of surprise and shock and awe. "Yeah, it's pretty impressive, huh?"

"Rio..." Riolu agreed, almost completely zoned out. The very presence of the Dialga was enough to make him silent in awe at the magnificent beast.

_The snowflakes fall gently to the ground,_

_The temperature drops and your shivers,_

_Freeze all the rivers around._

"Good afternoon, class," Aromi began once it was time for him to start the last class of the day. "Today we have a special guest. I must request that you all treat them with respect; failure to do so will result in a possibly painful experience."

"But you'll stop this person from doing that, right?" Hermione asked, concerned.

"Depends on what they do. Anyway, you can come in here now; just don't scare them _too_ much, alright?"

When the visitor appeared, most of the class instantly had their jaws dropped. Most of the Pokémon stiffened, wondering what the creature was doing there. Considering that the visitor was Dialga, seeing these reactions was somewhat expected. The Dialga grinned to her trainer, whom just rolled his eyes.

"So, you wanna do the same as the last classes?" He asked her.

_Sure,_ She said.

"Alright," The professor stepped back to the board and grabbed a marker. "Class, this is Algida. You may go ahead and ask her questions. I would suggest you follow the advice I gave earlier."

With that he turned the board around and stood on the other side. Then he cast a charm quietly that allowed him to watch the class as he began to manually write the same thing he'd written for the other classes. Rather predictably, Hermione raised her hand first. Then something came to mind.

"Oh!" Aromi said suddenly, poking his head out from behind the board. "I forgot to mention something. I've enchanted the air in front of the board. Whenever someone asks a question, it will be written in the air; the answer will be written there as well. The letters will only last a few moments once the answer is given, so if you wish to take notes, be quick. Okay, _now_ you may ask your question, Ms. Granger."

"Er... well, Dialga," The young woman asked, her Cyndaquil silent. He didn't want to accidentally insult the powerful creature. "How many legendary Pokémon are there?"

_At this point, there are..._ Algida took a moment to recall all of her colleagues and count them. _Well, not that many. No more than twenty-five, really. And call me Algida._

The answer written in the air had been shortened to be easy to write down, just as the enchantment told it to. It said "No more than twenty-five". After a couple of seconds, Algida took a moment to get comfortable and nodded to another member of the room.

"Which of the legendary Pokémon is the most powerful?" Surprisingly, this was Neville.

_Me, of course!_ Algida said with a grin. Some students chuckled. _Seriously, there is one that's the strongest. I cannot answer your question any further. Sorry, but I'm simply not at liberty to give out his name without asking for his permission._

"And he's one of those that, if you pissed him off, it just might be the last thing you ever do," Professor Nozawa cut in.

_Oh, how true that is. Next? How about one of the redhead twins?_

"Well, Ms. Algida..." One began. If you must know, it was George.

"We were wondering..." Fred continued, picking up perfectly. Minun and Plusle grinned to each other.

_Hey, I said one!_ Algida cut in, although she smiled along with the twins. _Not both!_

"Our apologies," They said at the same time, speaking as one. "We will ask as 'one', as you wish."

_They're just like Lucario and Espeon,_ Algida commented silently to her trainer. He nodded in agreement.

_Terrible, isn't it?_ He replied, making her smile a little more.

"Ms. Algida," The twins began together again. "What is the jewel in your chest for?"

_Some would say it's the source of my abilities,_ Algida said. _Some would say that it's just decoration. Some would say that it's both. In actuality, it is to help me control what comes naturally to me. There is an orb that is now a part of it that amplifies some of my attacks._

"What would this orb be, Ms. Algida?" The twins asked. "What does it look like?"

_It's called the Adamant Orb. It looks similar to the jewel you see now; just smaller. Now who's next?_

"Yeah, how stupid are you?" One guess as to who was stupid enough to ask this.

The class fell silent. Algida glanced at the letters in the air to make sure she heard correctly; when it was confirmed... oh, that boy was going to get it. Aromi stepped out from behind the board, sighing as he spun it back around and put the marker down, having finished.

"Mr. Malfoy," he began to say. "Fifteen points from Slytherin, and for insulting Algida's intelligence, I'm going to go ahead and let her get away with whatever she's going to do with you. After all, I _did_ warn you ahead of time."

Algida's eyes were glowing a menacing blue, and suddenly the blonde was lifted out of his seat. Then he was turned upside down and his arms were locked to his sides. The blue aura surrounding him suddenly turned inward and seemed to strike an important chord deep within his being. Then the glow vanished. And he didn't move.

"W-What is this?" Malfoy exclaimed, frightened, as the blood rushed to his head.

_Since you seem to be so brain-dead,_ Algida said, snarling slightly. The frightening look on her face was enough to make Malfoy come very close to peeing his pants. _I'm going to help get a little more blood to it and see if that teaches you to treat me and my trainer with the respect we deserve, you little brat!_

"Professor, do something!"

"Sorry, Mr. Malfoy, but there's nothing I can do," Aromi said. "Algida used a special power of hers. Once she had you in the position she wanted, she distorted time around you. From what I can tell, it will take until dinner for you to be able to reach the desk with your hands and pull yourself to the floor. I can't do anything about it."

"M-My father will hear of this!" The frightened boy exclaimed, hoping that would save him.

Nozawa went to his desk, searched through the drawers, then removed a paper. "That's fine, but it's not like he could do anything."

"W-Why the bloody hell not?"

"Remember this?" Aromi asked, smirking as he held up the paper.

"That's the liability release form, isn't it?" Hermione blurted out almost immediantly.

"Indeed it is. With this in hand, and since you've signed it, Mr. Malfoy... there is nothing your father can do. After all, you signed this, stating that you would take responsibility for anything that happens to you as a result of _your_ actions. Since it was _your_ foolishness that caused your current position, your father is powerless. Besides, if he tried to threaten Algida, things would go from bad to worse."

Silence reigned for a full minute. Then the questions started again, and Malfoy soon found out that the legendary Pokémon had been smart enough to make it so nothing but his own strength could get him down. His Seviper wouldn't be able to help him. As the questions continued, the rest of the class left him alone more and more. At last, the professor took over, and began to teach the class. He was talking about the subject of how there are other occupations dealing with Pokémon than Pokémon Battles. There were contests, races, all sorts of things. Some people even just have Pokémon as family members, and nothing more. At last, the bell rang, and the majority of the class left. Malfoy not included, of course. Professor Nozawa left with Algida to talk to the headmaster, leaving the boy alone to float upside down and with nothing to do but wait for him to be able to escape.

_If speed's a pro,_

_Inertia must be a con._

"Did you see the look on Malfoy's face?" Ron asked at last, having been keeping it inside until dinner, waiting to see the look on said boy's face. Caterpie was on his shoulder, silent, as always.

"Yeah," Harry said, grinning himself. Riolu, sensing his trainer's pleased sense from seeing his rival suffer, smiled himself. "That was pretty good, wasn't it, Riolu?"

The little aura Pokémon's smile widened as he nodded. Oh, hell yes, that was one of the best things the trio had ever seen! Even Hermione, despite trying to remain stern about it, couldn't help but give in at last and agree. It _had_ been quite entertaining. Perhaps he'd have learned some manners from the experience. If only they were that lucky...

* * *

**Credits:** Song lyrics from "Tip of the Iceberg" by Owl City.

**A/N:** Well, that was fun! It's entertaining to rip on Malfoy, isn't it? Review to tell me your answer! ^_^


	8. Chapter 8

**A/N:** Well, another few days, another chapter! What a surprise. Either way, I hope you enjoy it, and yes, that's all I have to say for this note pre-chapter note, so you can get right to it. Oh, and it's been a few days since Malfoy was hung upside-down by Algida. Which he totally deserved.

* * *

_**Chapter Eight**_

_I Never Finish Anyth_

"Alright, class," Professor Nozawa began, Algida sitting in on the class again. Malfoy was, thankfully, still silent. "I've taught you how to take care of your Pokémon; I've taught you about battles and contests and everything in between. I'm going to go over a project for the next twenty or so minutes, and please save the questions for later. This project is due next Wednesday. I suggest you take notes."

As promised, it took him only twenty minutes to cover the basics of the project. The class was required to design their own training regime specifically tailored to their Pokémon. It had to be just right for that species, otherwise it wouldn't be accepted by him. They could use any resource they could find to figure it out, including asking their partners questions. Which was highly recommended. The class would be going over several other parts to the regime plans once the papers were graded, but that part was going to be a surprise until the right time. In order for it to be accepted, both the student and their partner had to sign their approval of the training method. Each student was not to ask Aromi any questions as to how to set up their regime; after all, he could only give suggestions. The ones to be affected would be their partners, not him. Therefore, he was going to be little to no help here. After all, he's taught them how to make one; now they just had to do it themselves. The minute he let them get to work, the room began to buzz with chatter.

"So, Riolu... what're you into?" Harry asked, unsure of what to put. Unfortuantely, he was also a bit out of it.

"Rio..." Riolu said, sensing his trainer's anxiety and uncertainty. Despite the fact that his most recent detention from Umbridge had been with Nozawa, which wasn't so bad, Hermione had given him something else that added plenty of pressure: to start teaching DADA the proper way. Without Umbridge learning of it.

"...I forgot that you can sense it," The boy-who-lived said quietly. He kind of just stared at the parchment on the desk in front of him, feeling lost; Riolu, kind soul that he is, gently put a paw on the boy's back. After a moment, the boy gave him a smile. "...Thanks."

After another couple of moments, the two got to work. And Harry was definitely feeling better. As he worked, so did his friends and class mates. Rather predictably, Hermione was conversing well with her Cyndaquil, and making great time; in fact, they were about halfway done. Ron, on the other hand, was making about the same amount of progress as Harry: next to nothing. He and Caterpie just had no idea of what to do right now. Unfortunately for him, the bell rang before he had a chance to even start once they had agreed on an idea. Therefore, he had no choice but to sigh, pack up his stuff, and head to the next class with his friends. One of which was about a sixth of the way done, the other about two-thirds finished. Guess who had which status.

_Tell me why you're here_

_You could walk away right now_

"So what do you think the plan is for today?" Ron asked Hermione, after turning in his plan the day before. Which he'd scraped out the night before it was due. Kinda with Caterpie's help.

"I have no clue," Hermione said, only partly listening to him, but she was mostly watching Harry. He seemed kind of... out of it. "Is something wrong, Harry?"

"Huh?" Harry said, looking up, surprised he was talked to out of nowhere like that. "Oh... nothing."

"Rio!" Riolu said sharply, frowning at the boy. "Rio riolu!"

"...You're right," the boy said, giving in. "I'm just sort of... unsure, I guess. Ever since you suggested that I make a DADA class of my own..."

"And you should!" Hermione exclaimed. "You can do it! Everyone agrees that you're the best at that subject!"

"I don't know. I'm not _that_ good."

"Do you want to continue doing nothing but reading about these bloody theories Umbridge is shoving down our throats?"

Harry was silent. He didn't know what to think at the moment; he didn't know if that was what he wanted or not... so he told her to let him think about it some more. The bushy-haired girl sighed and let it go. Once they reached the classroom, however, she frowned, being the first to enter with Cyndaquil at her side.

"What's wrong?" Ron asked, confused. He peeked over her shoulder. "Oh."

"I guess we should hurry," Hermione said.

Harry was confused until he saw the board. It said to meet out at the Quidditch field. Once there, they found Professor Nozawa and the rest of the class there. Right as the bell rang through out the castle. The man smiled, Kyashii at his side again.

"Glad everyone could make it!" He exclaimed, smiling, as he grabbed a bunch of papers from the medicine bag hanging at his side. With a wave of his wand, the papers returned to their rightful owners. "I'm glad to say that everyone has made an acceptable training regime. Can anyone guess as to why we're outside?"

Nobody raised a hand. It was obvious as to the reason. The professor let it sink in for a few moments, then waved his wand again. A small canopy appeared nearby, along with a little tarp under it.

"Everyone, I can guarantee that the majority of you will be uncomfortable in those robes," He said, gesturing to the newly-made protected area. "I would suggest that you put them under the cover of this canopy to keep them dry and safe and warm when you get them back."

There was a flurry of movement as the students did as was suggested. October was beginning to reach its middle, so the weather was fairly nice. No rain, no snow, a mild breeze. All in all, it was a nice day. Once everyone had their clothes under the shelter, and back where they'd been before, the man spoke again.

"Everyone please look at the regime you've planned," Nozawa began. "Today, you are going to begin working with it. Take a moment to familiarize yourself with what you have planned. We will begin in a couple of minutes."

Another flurry of movement and the shuffling of paper. While they were busy, the professor shrugged off his bag and his vest, leaving him in nothing but a well-fitting shirt and jeans. He wasn't totally muscular; oh hell no. He was, however, in great shape. Once the students looked up again, several blinked; some remained stoic; a few easy-to-impress girls swooned.

"Alright, everyone," Nozawa said. "I'm going to lead you through a few warm-up stretches. So please stow away the papers and get ready."

A few minutes later, everyone – aside from the physically fit, such as the professor – was sore. Then those dreaded words were spoken:

"Now, then, students," Nozawa began, nodding to Kyashii. "You shall begin your training regimes! You _must_ participate in them with your partners! I will demonstrate. Kyashii and I will begin our training for this afternoon by jogging around the field three times. By the time I finish the first lap, I expect everyone here to have begun with the first step on their plans! You have the rest of the period to train with your partners, so we'll start now."

With that, he turned to the right direction, took a deep breath, and started jogging. Kyashii kept pace easily. Some students began right away; some had to be ordered to do so when the professor came around after the first lap. Either way, not very many of them were terribly excited about what they were being told to do. After about five or ten minutes, some were utterly exhausted, being tortured by the regimes they'd made themselves. Oh, how they wished they'd been nicer! Although they had a partner to suffer through with them. At this point, Harry and Riolu were jogging around the field, like their professor; Hermione and Cyndaquil were stretching again after doing the same; Ron and Caterpie were practicing one of the only attacks the Pokémon knew: Sling Shot. Using a target Nozawa had conjured Building its accuracy and all that. The redhead's brothers were working on their teamwork with their Pokémon and themselves together; it wasn't too difficult so far. Ginny, Neville, and Luna were teaming up to train each other. They had made their work-out schedules coincide in order to get the training done in a more effective manner; and, to their pleasure, it was working quite well! Neville's Ralts and Luna's Drifloon worked with Ginny's Feebas quite well. Despite not covering each other's type weaknesses too well, they were all very well matched. By the end of the period, everyone was exhausted. To the students' chagrin, Professor Nozawa was only mildly winded. He had used one of the wooden stake targets to build he and Kyashii's physical strength, beating it mercilessly most of the time. And he was sweating only a little bit.

_No one could stop you._

_You're free to choose your own way._

"Ow ow ow..." Harry moaned, with Riolu, exhausted, dragging at his side.

"Bloody hell..." Ron panted, grasping his side. He and Caterpie had finished their session with some gruelling work, and it left them both sore. "Who knew that would be so tough?"

"Well... we asked for it..." Hermione said, stopping to put her hands to her knees and pant.

The rest of the trio said nothing as they forced themselves to move onto their next class. Oh, if only the end of the day would come sooner! Then they'd be able to sleep in their incredibly soft and comfy beds. Unfortunately, every student of Nozawa's knew that today was only the beginning; after all, he'd told them so.

"_Well done, everyone!" Nozawa said to his students at the end of the class, wiping his forehead with a towel that sat beside his bag. The dampness from the grass made it feel really nice. "Be sure to meet out here again tomorrow. We will begin with the second-day portion of the regime you have planned for yourselves."_

_A pause to hear the unanimous groan._

"_Those of you who foresaw this possibility and planned appropiately, kudos to you. Other than that, good work for today. You are all dismissed to your next class."_

"I can't believe we have to do it tomorrow too..." Ron groaned, still gripping his side. Caterpie was on his shoulder, too exhausted to walk on its short legs.

"It won't be so bad for me and Riolu," Harry said. "We decided to have the second day be mostly meditation; from what Riolu tells me, it's important for him if he wants to keep his aura senses sharp."

"Rio!" Riolu agreed. The amount of energy put into that one word made the Pokémon immediantly follow with a sigh as he put a paw to his side. Man, he was sore!

The rest of the trip to History of Magic was uneventful. Rather predictably, almost the entire class passed out during the boring lectures. Notably, most of them had just come from their session of torture, so it wasn't _too_ surprising. After all the classes and dinner had passed and the students released to their dormitories, every member of Professor Nozawa's class was very quickly asleep. Their training that day had exhausted almost all of them.

_Don't be afraid._

_All that's all yours could make it alright._

"Professor Nozawa, may I speak with you?" McGonnagal asked her colleague, finding him outside and gazing at the night sky. Espeon was at his side, napping quietly.

"Of course," He said, gesturing to a spot by him on the grass he sat on. "Have a seat."

"It has to do with your classes today," She began, conjuring something to sit on.

"Ah. I'm assuming you were having trouble keeping some of my students awake in your classes?"

"Yes, I was. They said that you put them through some rigorous physical activity."

"Guilty as charged," Aromi chuckled.

"I must ask, why did you force them to do so?"

"All I did was make them do what _they_ planned out for themselves."

"Would be so kind as to explain what you mean?" McGonnagal asked, slightly confused.

"At the start of last week, I began to teach them how to make a training regime. That Friday, I had all of them make one for their partner Pokémon. All I did was make them follow through with it."

"Wouldn't it only have involved the Pokémon, then?"

"Not in this case. One of the requirements for the regime they made was to make it so that it could apply to both Pokémon and trainer."

"So once you approved them, you had them go through with it?"

"Indeed. Some of them, such as Ms. Granger and Mr. Potter, were wise enough to foresee that there was a possibility that I would do such a thing. Their regimes are made to be two days' worth of training."

"Would I be correct in guessing those two made at least one day where they would have fairly simple training?"

"Why yes, you'd be correct. They were also wise enough to know that doing so wouldn't fly with me; so they made the other day rather rigorous. Trust me, professor, the 'torture' they went through today, as I'm sure they called it, was planned by themselves. I did nothing but make them do it."

"I see. How long do you plan on making them do this?"

"I will supervise them until it becomes a habit to them. Unfortunately, I have no other means of predicting when this will finish. Once it does, however, I will be sure to move on to another subject."

"Very well. Thank you for answering my questions."

"You're welcome."

McGonnagal stood, vanished her chair, and walked calmly back into the castle. Nozawa remained outside for a while longer before retiring as well. Espeon followed him, of course. Tomorrow was going to be another day of training, and they all needed their rest. As he lay in his bed, he wondered for a few moments when he'd be able to move on to another subject. By his predictions, probably not until December. After another few moments, he let it go and let sleep take over...

* * *

**Credits:** Song lyrics from "Red vs Blue Ost Version" by Jeff Williams.

**A/N:** Thank you all for sticking with me for so long! Now, if you'd be so kind as to review, that'd be awesome! I hope you all enjoyed this (short) chapter! =)


	9. Chapter 9

**A/N:** Well, another week or two, another chapter. Just as I said, my progress on this has slowed by quite a bit. That's okay, though; it'll get finished sooner or later. Patience, readers, is all that I ask for. Thank you!

* * *

_**Chapter Nine**_

_People Learn English All the Time! It Aren't That Hard._

Several days have passed since the training regimes had been introduced. The students of Professor Nozawa's class did them twice a week, with Wednesday being their one and only weekday break. As the weeks went on, the students and their partners became stronger and they found it easier to deal with the strenous physical activities. During the weekends, his classes were required to memorize all the different species of Pokémon. They weren't required to know their abilities or anything, just the names. They would work on types and other things similar to that later in the school year. There was one time where they had been told to do a two-page essay on the legends surrounding some of the legendary Pokémon. Those stories had been discussed over series of days with Algida being the leader of the discussion, mostly because she was one of those creatures. Rather predictably, they were not allowed to do their essay on her; that would be too easy. The assignment was to explain the legend behind the Pokémon of their choice, and then to tell their beliefs about it.

"_How are you all doing on your memorizations?"_ _Kyashii, Nozawa's Luxray, asked the class. Algida was away from the castle for personal reasons. She was normally the one to help their trainer teach; however, ever since the man had found that awesome translator spell, it had made it so that the rest of the team could teach as well. Some of the team members enjoyed teaching; others merely tolerated it an awful lot._

"_Good, Professor," The class responded. _

"_Excellent!" She exclaimed with a smile. Despite resembling a lioness so well, the students found it easy to be comfortable around her; her kindness and compassion was the main reason for this. "Don't forget, you'll be having a quiz on the last fifty Pokémon this Friday."_

_There were nods all around. Nozawa made sure from his desk, as he graded the essays, that everyone was paying attention. At that moment, a piece of balled up parchment went flying across the room – and smacked right into Malfoy's nose. Since it was only the castle's version of paper, it was painless; but it did get his attention._

"_Professor, what was that for?" Malfoy demanded. Kyashii answered for her trainer; having been with him for so long, he didn't even need to say anything for her to understand why he'd done it._

"_That, Mr. Malfoy," She began calmly. "Was for doodling while I'm talking. Do try to pay attention."_

_Afterwards, the class went on normally, the targeted student grumbling silently._

Even amongst grading all of the incredible amount of work the strange, foreign professor was placing upon his students, he still found time to break down Umbridge's defenses bit by bit. Upon meeting her, he had instantly known she would cause trouble at the school; hence the reasons he put forth so much effort into taking her defenses and abilities placed upon her due to her status as "Hogwarts High Inquisitor" – which he, along with his entire team, thought was absolute bullshit – and breaking them down. Piece by piece, bit by bit. No matter what little rule she came up with, he always found a way to destroy it, one way or another. However, that was of little to no matter, as right now, he was finally teaching the classes again. It was late in October, when the start of the Hogwarts Quidditch Games would begin soon – and he had an annoncement for it.

"Class, I know how excited you all are for the Quidditch match this weekend, being Slytherin versus Gryffindor," Nozawa began to say to his final class of that Friday, the quiz over and already graded and returned. "Therefore, your homework this weekend is to relax and enjoy the game."

Cue the cheers from the students. Nozawa smiled.

"But! Be prepared to work hard next Monday!"

Cue the mass groan – and another smile.

"Anyway. There's only a couple of minutes left for class, so go ahead and quietly clean up. I have a couple more things to say as you do so."

The class began to quietly put away their books.

"Those of you going to watch the match, take your partners with you. Fairly simple. However, this also applies to those of you that are going to be _participating_ in the match! I must ask you that you _not_ have your partners participate, but have them go through the preparations with you; let them experience with you what it's like. Other than that, students, have a great weekend!"

Right as he said that, the bell rang. Cue mass of students standing and leaving.

_True American love_

_Is like a green-cooked bottle_

_They don't make it anymore_

There was an endless amount of roaring throughout the stadium, as the two teams of red and gold versus green and black faced off in one of the early Quidditch matches of the season. As the boys and girls on their brooms zoomed around, Professor Nozawa was with Lucario in the staff's area. There, he watched calmly as their seeker of choice zoomed around the field, keeping an eye on the little dot of gold. Although he'd never admit it aloud, he was one of the many of the stadium to agree to the twins' bets. He had bet five galleons that it would be a Gryffindor victory, with a 210 lead to Slytherin's 180. As the students in green continued to beat the quaffle past Ron over and over, the points started to get to that point.

"Hmm..." Nozawa hummed, as he hoped for his bet to be accurate.

_You really are hoping to get that extra five galleons, aren't you?_ Lucario asked his trainer, chuckling and rolling his eyes.

"Of course I am!" The trainer said defensively, noticing how Harry caught the Snitch at last... and, he had... failed his bet. By ten freaking points! "...Damn."

_Ha! _Lucario exclaimed softly to his trainer, as they stood and quickly left for the center of the field. They had both seen the start of the crowd, and didn't like the way it looked. _Now you owe me three Sitrus Berries!_

"Fine..."

When they finally got to the crowd, it was too late: the fight had broken out. They didn't bother to stop it – because it was already _being_ stopped. They saw Harry Potter and the Weasley twins being dragged away to the side room by Professor McGonnagal – and they both noticed Umbridge being quick to follow. Nozawa and Lucario unanimously decided to do the same – and came upon an annoying situation.

"Hem hem," coughed the little witch again. McGonnagal looked ready to stun the damn woman.

"Yes, Professor?"

"I think they deserve more than a mere suspension... how about premanently removing them from the game?"

"How about not?" Nozawa cut in instantly. The three boys whirled around to see him; Harry was lucky enough to see him in action before, and now he got to see it again – this time with the twins. "There's no point in a permanent suspension for a mild brawl. In case you are unaware, Professor Umbridge, cruel and unusual punishment goes against the somewhat-universal law of human rights."

"How dare you! I am the High Inquisitor of Hogwarts, and I –"

"Professor, I will be honest with you: I do _not_ care about your position. Until that message gets through to you, I will continue to break down each and every one of your attempts to usurp the power of each and every other professor within this castle."

The little witch, once more enraged by this foreigner's actions and words, went to pull out her wand – and faltered. She looked up at the man again, seeing him smirking. Not only did he have his own wand out, but he held hers in his other hand.

"Looking for this?" He asked calmly. "Professor, I have warned you before not to threaten me; it seems that message must also be repeated. For now, I will hold onto your wand and turn it in to the Headmaster. He will return it to you when he sees fit; until then, please be quiet and allow Professor McGonnagal and myself to deal with this."

"Actually, Professor Nozawa," McGonnagal said. "Why don't you allow me to take Professor Umbridge's wand to the Headmaster and explain, while you handle this?

"Alright, thank you."

The short witch's wand was quickly handed over, and the man took control of the situation immediantly. Lucario kept a close watch on the woman, making sure she didn't try anything.

"Okay, guys," Nozawa began calmly. "First and foremost, know that I am not angry. I merely wish to get the story straight and I will deal out the appropiate punishments. Am I clear?"

"Yes, Professor," was the reply from the trio.

"Good! First, Harry, tell me what happened from your point of view."

So it went on, and all three of the boys told the man as calmly as they could what they saw happen, as truthfully as they could remember it. Then, he asked them to recite what Malfoy had said – and when they finished, there was silence. It held for a while, then the man sighed. He grabbed a piece of parchment, wrote on it quickly, then used a quiet spell to send it on its way.

"Don't worry; Mr. Malfoy will also be punished," Nozawa said. The boys' faces brightened, and their Pokémon partners with them. The partners had easily overpowered Malfoy's Seviper, letting the boys get at their target more easily. "However! You three will also be punished. While Mr. Malfoy's behaviour is rude and will not be accepted, neither will your reactions."

Their faces fell instantly.

"You will be suspended from the next two games, all three of you – but you will be allowed to practice. I will brief my Pokémon team of your punishments, and they will assist me in making sure you do as you have been told. Am I clear?"

"Yes, Professor."

"Good!" Nozawa said, smiling. "Then get your stuff and head on back to the castle."

_Part of me died back in '64_

_I wanna be a superhero_

"Wait... repeat that," Angelina said slowly.

"We're... suspended from the next two games..." Harry said nervously, knowing of the upcoming storm.

"What!" The girl exclaimed loudly. The others in the common room winced and were quick to leave. "We need you for those games, and you'll fall out of practice!"

"Not really," Fred said, beaming about this part. He was identified by his Pokémon partner. "Professor Nozawa is allowing us to practice."

"...He is?" Angelina asked, blinking rapidly. She had started to get on a roll, too, and then Fred had cut her off. "Really?"

"Yeah, isn't that awesome?" George asked excitedly, his trademark grin on his face.

"That isn't so bad, I suppose... I saw Umbridge head in your direction, too. What do you think she would have done?"

Silence.

"...She would've permanently suspended you, right?"

The boys seemed to have suddenly lost the ability to speak. Angelina sighed, then waved the boys good night. She was just grateful that Umbridge had been stopped, and she wasn't alone in that prospect.

"So he really did save you from that?" Hermione asked, incredulous. Cyndaquil was in her arms, listening intently.

"Yeah, it was really cool!" George exclaimed excitedly. "He just kinda walked in and..."

"...When that witch was about to take over..." Fred continued. Just like normal.

"...He cut in..."

"...And totally took over instead!"

"Then he had us..."

"..Tell him what we saw..."

"...From our point of view..."

"...And what Malfoy said."

"So now..."

"...Malfoy's being punished along with us!"

There was a stunned silence from Hermione. She had only heard of this man's ability to cut through the short witch's despicable methods. No matter how many times she heard of it, they intriqued her. Even her Pokémon was put at awe. Soon after, however, they all went to bed. Harry, however, stayed up until the room was empty, and the fire pit came alive.

_I've got a mask,_

_I've got a name_

"Alright, class," Nozawa began to say, as they stayed inside for the first time in a couple of weeks. The board was frighteningly blank. "I've got a big surprise for you this week. And maybe for next week. We'll see."

"What's the surprise, professor?" Neville asked, once called upon after he raised his hand.

The man simply smiled and waved his wand. The stack of paper on his desk instantly distributed itself to the students, one per child. Sara, his Pidgeot that was watching the class today, watched with interest. After a couple of minutes, Hermione raised her hand. Cyndaquil smiled; he was proud of his trainer to always be so eager to learn. Unlike _other_ humans (notice as he gives a pointed look at a certain redhead).

"Professor, what's with the brackets?" She asked, noticing her name was right by Parvati's. "Is this a tournament?"

"Indeed it is," Nozawa said calmly. "Excellent eye, Ms. Granger. I have already assigned you all to a particular bracket; this is a full-on tournament."

Mass groans. Pokémon included, this time, making both the man and Sara chuckle for a few moments.

"It won't be that terrible," He said. "The rules are included on the back of that paper."

Mass amount of paper shuffling ensued.

"The tournament will begin Wednesday. You all have today and tomorrow to plan. I will tell you now that we will be having several tournaments throughout the year. This is merely the first."

Another set of sighs and groans, but not nearly as many that time.

"You have the rest of the period to either come up with a plan, or train. Everyone move outside, please."

After a couple of minutes spent to move to the pitch, the class got right to work. Several began to write down ideas as they discussed it with their partners, others immediantly continued to work with their personal regime. If all went well for this tournament, some students would have a big surprise in store for them. With so much training under their belts, the Pokémon had gotten significantly stronger than when they had first met their trainers; now was for a test to see just how well that had worked out for the pairs...

* * *

**Credits:** Beginning quote from the ever-popular web series, RedVSBlue (Tuckerism). Song lyrics from the song "Superhero", made by the band Trocadero.

**A/N:** Well, that's all there is for this chapter! Please be kind enough to review, readers. After all, you wouldn't want Nozawa's entire team to attack you (which they will if you don't review)? :P Thanks for your patience, dear readers! ^-^


	10. Chapter 10

**A/N:** Alright, another several months and another chapter. I sincerely apologize for taking this long to create this, but I've been hauling ass to do so many things in real life: finishing my Eagle Scout requirements, high school graduation requirements, choir concerts, musical auditions... damn, I'm gonna be busy the next few months. But hey, lots of time for creativity! ^-^ I hope you all enjoy this anyway!

* * *

_**Chapter Ten**_

_We Don't Get Paid Enough to do Stuff_

Tensions were high throughout the school. The several dozen people that were a member of Professor Nozawa's classes were being subjected to his newest method of torture: forcing his students – and, by proxy, their Pokémon partners – to participate in tournaments. Thankfully, they consisted only of their own classes... otherwise they would take _forever_. Aromi had realized this, and hence the reason he'd limited it to only fellow classmates. Nevertheless, the participants were nervous, as today would be the day that they would begin the tournament.

"Oh, man... I don't know if we're ready for this..." Harry muttered nervously _again_. Hermione, unlike other times, couldn't agree more.

"Then let's get our minds off it," She suggested. "What do you think we should have for our next... meeting?"

Grateful for the subject change, the golden trio began to discuss what next to train. You see, several days before Umbridge had _nearly_ banned Harry from Quidditch, he and his friends had started an under-the-radar club. It was formally called "Dumbledore's Army", and it was a place where the students meeting could actually _practice_ the Defense Against the Dark Arts theories that horrible woman was forcing down their throats. The members silently met as often as they could in a special place in the castle – a place known as the Room of Requirement. It was easy to get in, really. Just pass the spot three times with a very clear idea of what you need and/or want in your mind. In the case of the DA, that was a place to safely practice DADA techniques. The group and its meetings were to be kept top-secret, due to the fact that they were afraid Professor Umbridge would find out and do something absolutely horrible to them. Frankly, with the way she was treating her students – and how she repeatedly attempted to strike Nozawa – their fears weren't too irrational. As the trio continued to talk, time went by quickly.

"Hey, what time is it?" Ron asked, glancing at the time. His question made them all look.

"..." They all went silent for a minute.

Then, in a flurry of movement, they grabbed their stuff, shoved it all in their packs unceremoniously, and raced out to the Quidditch fields as quickly as they could. By the time they reached the fields, Pokémon right behind them, they were out of breath. Professor Nozawa smirked and chuckled.

"Don't worry, you three, you're just in time," He said. "And be grateful none of you go first. Go find a spot to sit down."

The trio left their packs and robes under a conjured shelter, and then took a seat under another, much larger, conjured shelter that was a ring around the designated battlefield. The lines on the field that the students would be battling in were also placed through the use of magic. After a quick session of attendance taking, the professor walked to the center of the field.

"Alright, class," He began. "Look around you."

A flurry of quiet movement as the students did as told.

"Notice how you all sat next to your fellow house members?"

Quiet murmurs of agreement.

"Well, I've noticed how big of a rivalry the houses of Gryffindor and Slytherin have – that's why I've constructed the tournament's brackets so carefully. Each and every bracket has a Gryffindor facing a Slytherin."

Sounds of excitement were made by all the students. Aromi let it go for a few moments, then nodded to Rikku. He was chosen to be out of the room today. That, and the others on the team had opted to stay in the room and be lazy for the day. Either way, he went around the ring, making sure that the Pokémon were ready for their battles. It only took a few minutes, as Aromi was preparing to be the judge for the battles. Within minutes, they were ready.

"Alright, it's time for the first battle!" The students cheered happily. "Fred Weasley versus Gregory Goyle!"

After they were told the rules of the engagement, then forced to shake hands as a sign of formality, the two boys split to either end of the arena. With Fred on his house's side, and Goyle on his, Nozawa called for the battle to begin...

_Hear the sound of the falling rain_

_Coming down like an armageddon flame_

_The shame, the ones who died without a name_

Unluckily for one member of the golden trio, he would be going up today. Even worse... he was up against the one student he hated the most in the entire school: Draco Malfoy. Although... it would give Harry a good excuse to beat him and show him how much of a git he was.

"Harry Potter and Draco Malfoy, please come to the center of the field!" Professor Nozawa called, standing in the designated spot. Once both students were there, their Pokémon in ther Pokéballs as per their teacher's instructions. The young man spoke to both of them in hushed tones. "Alright, listen up, the both of you. I know the kind of rivalry between you two, and frankly, I don't mind. However! I will not have any sort of the behavior I usually see from you two on this battlefield. Am I clear?"

"Yes, Professor," The boys responded, never taking their eyes off one another – but the Professor knew that they were listening.

"Keep this battle clean. Understand that the moment Rikku or I feel that you have gone too far, we _will_ intervene, and we _will_ stop the battle. Understood?"

With an affirmative from the boys, Nozawa sent them to their respective sides of the field. Things were about to heat up to an intense level. To be safe for the battles, the students had been forced to leave their wands in their robes – which were way out of reach from all of them. The young professor had known that if things had gone bad, there had been a chance for the students to go for their wands and things to go especially nasty; hence the reason he had Rikku making sure the wands stayed where they were. Knowing that things were relatively safe, he glanced to both of the teenagers.

"Alright, are both battlers and their Pokémon ready for battle?" Aromi asked calmly, both he and Rikku prepared for anything. The young man guessed both boy's Pokémon to be about level twelve. While it was true that the creatures didn't actually 'level up', the Pokédex put it into those terms to help the trainer figure out how much training and what kind was required to reach the next 'level.' He had instructed all of his students to keep the devices out, as they helped them know what attacks were possible and how much more damage their partners could withstand.

Harry glanced at Riolu – now out of his Pokéball along with Seviper – who nodded to his trainer. Then the raven-haired boy said he was ready. His rival just said yes. Perhaps the boy-who-lived would finally be able to show the annoying brat to respect him.

"Begin!" Nozawa exclaimed.

"Seviper, go for a Bite!" Malfoy exclaimed immediantly.

"Riolu, Quick Attack!" Harry countered quickly. His palms were starting to get a little sweaty; he had no idea how intense this battling thing was until just now!

As the large snake closed in upon the little guy, the blue Pokémon charged at it with blinding speed; the purple creature wass left stunned and winded as it was rammed into harshly. It hissed angrily and in pain, and before Malfoy could respond, snatched up Riolu in a Wrap attack. The blonde boy didn't care about the fact that he hadn't given an order; in fact, he _liked_ his partner's choice. Strangle the little pup! He didn't care!

Conversly, Harry was panicking a little bit. If it continued much longer, the battle might be ended early and he'd be put as the loser – even worse, Riolu could be seriously hurt! He glanced at his Pokédex, hoping to find the solution there. He only winced when the little health bar there went down after another squeeze from Seviper's body – then it came to him.

"Riolu! Counter!" Harry exclaimed desperately, praying to whatever gods existed that it would work.

A moment later found him thanking them. His choice of attack had worked – the small Pokémon had taken the force of Seviper's attack into himself, focused into a paw, and punched the snake in the jaw. It was enough for Riolu to free itself and to hurt his opponent. Unfortunately, the snake still had a touch more energy left after that.

"While it's dazed, Quick Attack!"

Grateful for the chance to finally get back at the Seviper, Riolu rammed it in the stomach again, and backed away quickly. No way was he getting caught a second time in that wrap attack! Unfortunately, he wasn't quick enough...

"Prepare a Counter!" Harry exclaimed, seeing Malfoy's mouth beginning to move and from words.

"Bite the acursed thing!" Malfoy said harshly.

When those huge fangs came down upon the young Pokémon, he would admit it, he freaked – but his trainer's order helped calm him. The immense pain that came from the fangs was intense... but, by some miracle, Riolu kept his focus, and did the same as before: gathered the physical power in one limb, and struck. A moment later, the two split and leapt apart. Both were a little worse for wear at the moment, but they were more than willing to keep battling – just as their trainers were. Professor Nozawa was going to let it go with about one more attack each... however...

"Bite – and don't let go!" Malfoy sneered. The boy's increasing anger throughout the battle had led to him, and as a result, his Seviper want to kill the annoying fighting-type! Harry and his teammate sensed some maliciousness in the voice... but thought nothing of it. Aromi, however...

"Enough!" Professor Nozawa exclaimed, stepping in with Rikku immediantly. The Seviper was easily caught by the man. Having personally trained his team, he knew how to catch incoming attacks without getting anyone hurt. After a moment, he let go of the snake-like creature and gently let it sink to the ground. "Get your Pokédexes ready to present to me, and send your Pokémon back to your seats. Let them rest."

As soon as the man turned to walk over to the table he'd conjured early that day, which held the papers he needed to record the results, things occurred.

"Do it anyway!" Malfoy yelled angrily. Harry and Riolu had dropped their guard, and were caught flat-footed.

"No!" Harry exclaimed, after a moment passed. He was desperate: if the attack landed in the way Malfoy intended, things would be bad.

_Wham!_ The Seviper was suddenly on the ground, eyes gone into spirals. Rikku stood in front of Riolu protectively, having smacked down the serpent with ease. The Empoleon's eyes were on fire with anger and frustration.

"Have you no honor?" Rikku asked Malfoy. The Pokémon's deathly calm voice sent shivers down the spines of several students – including the two on the battlefield. "When a battle's judge says that the battle is over, it is over. You do not continue the battle for your own personal vendetta. Am I clear?"

Professor Nozawa, having been unfortunate enough to also be caught flat-footed, sighed with both relief and frustration. He grabbed his clipboard and his pens and returned to the field, marking some notes. Once he was by his Empoleon's side again, he looked at the blonde with frustration.

"Mr. Malfoy, I am reaching the end of my patience with you," Nozawa said coldly. "Several times throughout the year you have disrespected me and my team; frankly, I don't care if you disrespect me – but doing so to my team is unacceptable. Now you flat-out do the opposite of what I have instructed – _and_ you threatened the life of a Pokémon who has done nothing but battle you honorably. As such, I am docking one-hundred-fifty points from Slytherin. You _and_ your Pokémon will also be serving a month's worth of detention with Mr. Filch. Now grab the healing items from the table, heal your Seviper, return to your seat, and _behave_."

The boy had gone from being infuriated at the end of the battle, to shock at Seviper's sudden loss, then back to anger at the "unjust" punishment. Malfoy wouldn't deny his desire to take down the Riolu permanently, but still – the punishment was too much.

"My father will hear about this!" He exclaimed as he did as he was instructed, the professor watching him the entire time.

"Good," Nozawa said. "Then I can finally talk to him about how he needs to make you _grow up_."

The entire time this was happening, Rikku had helped Harry to heal Riolu and to relax into his seat. Once that was all done and accounted for, with the detention written down and the message about it ready to be sent to Filch. Then he turned to the rest of the class.

"Alright, everyone," Aromi said. "That's all the time we have today. Mr. Malfoy, be at Mr. Filch's office by six. Those of you that battled today, please let your Pokémon have plenty of rest. Those of you that didn't, be prepared for when you _do_ go."

With that, the group of students stood, grabbed their belongings, and left for the main building. The young professor, having no more classes, personally handed the detention slip in, when he made sure that Malfoy wouldn't cause anymore trouble. As the students were slowly learning, the strange young man was taking the castle by storm.

* * *

**Credits:** Quote is a Grifism from RedVSBlue, and the song lyrics are from "Holiday" by Green Day.

**A/N:** Alright, Malfoy has been tortured even more! Yes, I am making it my mission to have Nozawa drill at least a _few_ manners into his head. If you want that to happen, you're going to have to give this chapter a review. Also, I realize that this chapter is a bit shorter than normal, but I feel that if I crammed anymore into it, the chapter would not be as good as it is.


	11. Chapter 11

**A/N:**I apologize for taking this long to put together this chapter, but hey, it happens. Either way, please enjoy this chapter! :)

* * *

_**Chapter Eleven**_

_We're not retreating._

_We're advancing towards future victories!_

Several days had past since Riolu had come into as close of a brush with death as Professor Nozawa would allow under his very, very watchful eye. As the days went by, Malfoy's detention continued, and he was slowly but hopefully learning not to mess with the foreign teacher. While it was true that not a single professor of Hogwarts was a pushover, the young man well and truly brought it to a whole new level. He was quite difficult to fool when it came to messing with the rules, and he had explained it one day, as well.

"_Professor?"_ _Hermione said questioningly, raising her hand during a lull in one class after the tournament. After several difficult battles, Harry had been the lucky winner. Espeon was the one teaching, and nodded to the brilliant brunette. "Um... I've been wondering... whenever someone breaks a rule or something, even if you didn't see it, you always seem to see straight through their explanations... how is that?"_

_Espeon's eyebrows raised, knowing this was a question for her trainer, not herself. When she looked up to said man, she sighed immediantly. He had his head down, pen up and almost touching a paper – but he was fast asleep. Truthfully, it was because he had stayed up all night dealing with business – paperwork and the like – but either way, this was something only he could answer. With the translator spell still active, Espeon sighed again and spoke._

"_I apologize for my trainer's behavior," She said calmly, jumping from the stool placed before the chalkboard over to Nozawa's desk. "He stayed up all night doing paperwork and stuff."_

_After a few minutes of silence as the class watched in anticipation, with the psychic-type's eyes glowing the entire time, her eyes dulled and she took a moment to catch her breath. Obviously, she had used some sort of psychic ability to get into his mind._

"_Man, I'm _still_ not good at looking into dreams..." Espeon mumbled quietly, before speaking up. "Alright, I was able to morph his dream for a moment to get the question through, and his answer to your question, Ms. Granger, is actually quite simple. My trainer claims he's good at reading people due to the fact that it's his job as a professional Pokémon Trainer. Without that skill, he wouldn't be as skilled as he is. Does that make sense?"_

_Hermione nodded, but it definitely made the students feel vulnerable. Afterwards, Espeon went on with the lesson._

Even now, Professor Nozawa had known for quite sometime that something was up around the castle. He hadn't been there when it had been made, but he had his strong suspicions that a certain student attending the school was breaking one of Professor Umbridge's decrees. Whether the foreigner liked it or not, the decrees were approved by the ministry, and as such, no matter how well he broke them down, they still applied... but there was one major flaw. The only way for the perpetrator to be punished was if _she_ was the one to catch the troublemakers in the act. Hence the reason the young man was on the prowl for a very specific room.

_I've gotta keep on moving,_

_I've gotta keep on moving,_

_I've gotta keep on moving,_

_I've got troubles on my mind._

After winning the tournament where that annoying boy, Malfoy, had very nearly _killed_ Riolu, Harry and his Pokémon partner had gone on to show the git that they were tougher than that – to the point where the duo won. The raven-haired teen had been told to come into his professor's office sometime the next week, and to bring a friend. While Harry understood what the visit was for, he didn't get the part of having someone with him; either way, though, today's current event was more important to know about.

Checking to make sure nobody was nearby, he and his two friends quickly made the Room of Requirement appear with the appropiate equipment. Today, about mid-November, was the day they would be working on something the entirety of Dumbledore's Army was anxious to try. When, at last, the entire group was there and roll had been called, Harry took control. Riolu was proud to be teamed up with this teen, because of the way they clicked... and the little brave Pokémon loved being able to see his trainer take control of their little meetings so willingly, after initially being so hesitant and nervous.

"Alright, everyone," Harry began to say, no longer nervous about teaching his friends behind Umbridge's back. "I think it's time we went on to some of the higher difficulty spells. Umm, today I'll teach you all the spell for repelling dementors."

There were quite a few murmurs through the crowd, before a frighteningly familiar voice rang out.

"That is indeed quite the difficult spell you're teaching there, Mr. Potter."

In an instant, everyone froze, eyes wide. There was no way. There was just _no way_ they'd been found so quickly. Nobody had given them away, else Hermione would know it from the jinx she put on the sign-up sheet; but nonetheless, that man had figured it out, and now, all of the students turned to him to see that familiar smirk on his countenance. Lucario was standing at his side.

"Now what's with those faces?" Professor Nozawa asked.

"A-Aren't you here to take us to..._her_?" Ron asked bravely. Aromi chuckled.

"No, no," He said, shaking his head.

"...Wait, why aren't you going to report us to Umbridge?" Harry asked, frowning.

"Haven't any of you read those annoying decrees?" Nozawa asked with a grin. When nobody replied, he sighed. "While it's true that they require all clubs like this to be disbanded, it does _not_ require any of the other teachers to do anything about it. As far as the decree is concerned, the only person allowed to disband this group is Professor Umbridge, and that's as long as she's the one who finds out. So, no, I'm not here for any of that."

There was a shocked silence among the group. They were... getting away free? Nobody was in any trouble?

"Besides," He continued. "Don't any of you remember the question Ms. Granger asked a couple days ago?"

"You mean the one of how you know when someone's making excuses?" Hermione asked. An affirmative nod clued her in. "So you used that experience to figure us out... but _how_?"

"I'll admit, you hid this group _very_ well," Professor Nozawa said calmly. "I had no more than a sneaking suspicion of the date and time and such until I was able to sneak into the room."

"You... snuck in?" George asked, impressed.

"Right behind Mr. Potter's group, actually."

Well, that left Harry feeling embarrassed. How had he not noticed?

"Either way, however," Aromi said. "I'm not here as a professor; I'm actually interested in the lesson. I've read up on these... dementors. I'd like to hear what you've got to say, Mr. Potter."

Knowing their professor, everyone in the room being in his class, knew he was serious – but that didn't soften their surprise and shock. He wasn't here to catch them red-handed... he was here to _learn_? Their reactions were to be expected, however, considering how rarely a teacher was willing to step down from that position of power and humble themselves to allow someone else – never mind one of their students – to teach them. Even so, Harry was able to take a deep breath, and get it together.

"Er... well... welcome, Professor," Harry said, earning a respectful nod from the man. "Um... anyway, the incantation for repelling dementors is _Expecto Patronum_. In order for the spell to be effective, you must visualize a powerfully happy memory. I know that for Ron, it would be Malfoy, the amazing bouncing furret."

Ron, his secret exposed, felt his ear tips turn red despite the grin on his face and students chuckled. Nozawa gave a smirk, even though he hadn't been there for it. After making sure the group of them had the incantation down, Harry went to demonstrating.

Riolu had only heard of this spell, and knew enough to know the form of the patronus took the form of a creature related to the caster's personality; as a result, he was interested in seeing his trainer's. While the young Pokémon knew he was Harry's personality in the form of a Pokémon, Riolu wanted to know what the teen's non-Pokémon form was. So he watched in anticipation as his trainer drew upon one of his happiest memories. If the aura-reading Pokémon could read minds, he'd know that Harry was thinking of the time the two of them had met.

"_Expecto Patronum!_" Harry exclaimed seriously, and watched as a powerful stag erupted from the tip of his wand.

As the silvery creature settled and the group of students stood in awe, it moved mysteriously towards the professor standing in their midst. Patronus and human took a few moments to just watch each other, before the stag leaned its head forward. It knew when a creature it encountered was powerful and to respect them. With a gentle smirk, Nozawa put his empty left hand – his wand was in his right hand – forth, and let a smile grace his lips as the strange, silvery creature nudged it carefully. After a few moments, though, the stag stepped back and disspated. About a full minute passed with a shocked silence permeating the room. It was extremely rare for something that they'd just witnessed to happen. Once they got focused, though, the entire group began practicing.

"So, I guess I could just take a shot, eh, Lucario?" Aromi said, wondering what patronus would appear from the tip of his Unicorn Hair wand.

"I suppose so, Aromi," Lucario shrugged. "Like you, I'm interested in what will be your... patronus, was it?"

"Hmm... I'm wondering if it's restriced to being a non-Pokémon creature. Any guesses on that front?"

"Well... if you don't have any guesses, I doubt I will."

"Touché," Aromi chuckled quietly. Then he took a deep breath, drawing upon the happiest memory he could think of – that day he and his team had defeated Cynthia, bringing a smirk to his countenance. Then, confidently, he cast the spell. "_Expecto Patronum._"

The instead the mist-like silvery stuff was expanded from the man's wand, it was very obvious that it was _not_ a Pokémon. Even so, the creature that it did end up being was damn impressive. It wasn't often that someone had a magical creature for a patronus, and even then, the one Professor Nozawa ended up conjuring was quite unique. It made the students of the room stop and stare. Only about half of them had been able to make a little whisp of smoke, and very few of _them_ had made a corpreal form; yet this professor had done it all in _one shot_. Adding salt to that little wound was the fact that his patronus was a full-blown, impressively-sized _dragon_.

"What the bloody hell...?" Ron said quietly, shocked and surprised and voicing everyone's thoughts.

The whispy dragon, quite respectable in its size and obvious power, flew around the room once before stopping before the one who conjured it. Despite it having no obvious occular organs, the professor could very clearly feel it looking into his soul. Having experienced the same glare when he'd faced Algida so long ago, Nozawa drew upon that experience and easily returned the hard look to the corpreal patronus. After a few moments, the dragon seemed pleased, and quickly dissipated. Several moments passed before the rest of the group began to return to their own attempts, while Harry went over to the young professor.

"Professor... that was incredible!" Harry said, amazed at how easily he'd gotten it down and the very creature the patronus was.

"How so?" Nozawa asked, genuinly curious. "Is it that rare of a creature for a patronus?"

"It's _very_ rare for any sort of magical creature to be one, Professor. I know that the headmaster has one of a pheonix, but he's the only other person I know with a magical creature for a patronus."

That little fact got the professor's attention; he was one of very few to have a patronus in such a form? Intriguing, indeed. Never-the-less, he nodded to Harry, who soon moved on as did the other students in the room. Aromi talked to Lucario about a couple of things, then decided it would be best to see if he could get better at controlling the spell's corpreal form. When he cast it once more, the dragon was of a much smaller, more conspicous size. Lucario was curious as to what memory he'd used this time.

"What memory did you use to make it so much smaller?" Lucario asked curiously. The Pokémon watched his trainer's countenace, his curiosity growing as the human's smile widened.

"The day you hatched," Aromi said, chuckling a moment later as Lucario blushed furiously. "And went right into battle without a word!"

The Aura Pokémon, embarrassed, did his best to ignore his trainer's chuckles. After a bit though, the man stopped and continued to practice conjuring the patronus and controlling its size and such.

_Each day I'm getting stronger,_

_Each day I'm getting stronger._

"Harry, I think it's time we improved the secrecy of our meetings," Hermione said in the Gryffindor common room. She was _still_ embarrassed at how easily their professor had figured them out.

"No kidding," The boy-who-lived agreed with a nod.

Even Riolu, sensing his trainer's feelings, was kind of embarrassed. The Emanation Pokémon was conversing with Cyndaquil, trying to come up with ideas of security while their trainers did the same. Soon enough, they had made their decisions, shared them, and come up with the plan that going to the meetings in small groups instead of a large one would be better. Hermione used her patronus – it being an inconspicous otter – to send the message to all of the members, now including Professor Nozawa. Soon after, they went to sleep, now content with how things were going. Oh, if only they knew of the surprise Aromi had ready for his classes...

* * *

**Credits: **Opening quote is a "Sargism" from "Red VS Blue", while the song lyrics are from the song "Keep Moving" by Trocadero.

**A/N:** Now, then, if you would all like to guess what the surprise is, you'll have to review (sneaky, aren't I? :P) – and I would love to hear everyone's guesses! Also, I apologize for the shortness of this chapter, but I felt that lengthening it would be a poor decision, so... yeah... either way, another story's idea is ravaging my imagination, making it difficult to come up with chapters for this story. I apologize for that as well. Either way, thanks for reading! :)


	12. Chapter 12

**A/N: **Oh, yes... Nozawa is most definitely about to torture his students! :D You'll understand once you read the chapter, dear readers. Enjoy!

* * *

_**Chapter Twelve**_

_Emotional Outbursts Take More Than 1.6 Volts._

"So, Harry," George asked curiously. "What did the professor want you to go to his class for?"

"Yes, do tell us," Fred inquired, their Pokémon nibbling on the food before them.

As the group of Weasleys, intermingled with a single Potter and Granger, were sitting at breakfast on a Saturday morning to eat, Fred and George's Minun and Plusle were sitting by their trainers' plates and calmly nibbling on a piece of toast they split between them. Even as the two friendly creatures ate, they listened in, just as curious as their twin trainers.

"Something I never expected," Harry said, grinning to Riolu, who smiled back. "Should we show them?"

"Rio!" Riolu said, his smile widening as he nodded.

Harry, agreeing whole-heartedly, pulled out a second Pokéball and began to explain.

"You know that personality-reading Pokéball?" He asked, making sure they remembered it.

"Yeah," Ginny said, interested as to why, out of their entire class, Harry was the only one to have two Pokéballs. "Who did you take into the class with you, like he asked?"

"I went with him," Hermione said. "Ron was busy with training Caterpie."

"Yup!" Ron said, mouth stuffed. When Hermione and Harry told him to hush in that circumstance, he decided to keep quiet.

Harry's grin widened as he explained.

"_Umm... Mr. Nozawa?"_ _Harry asked, as he stepped into the classroom, Riolu at his side, just like always. The Emenation Pokémon rarely spent time in his official Pokéball, something he was grateful for. _

_The professor, caught off guard as he was busy with paperwork, jumped slightly. When he saw it was just Harry, the young man sighed at the large line that shouldn't be on the parchment. Thankfully a wave of his wand removed it, and he stood._

"_I assume you're here for your tournament prize, Mr. Potter?" Aromi asked, and when he received a nod and noticed Hermione nearby, continued. "Excellent! Then come on over here."_

_Harry did as he was told, his friends standing back a ways, watching with intense curiosity. When the student held out his hand, as instructed, he found a familiar Pokéball in his hand._

"_Umm... Professor?" Harry asked, confused as to why the personality Pokéball was out again. He looked to the young man to see a smile on his face._

"_Just wait, Mr. Potter," Nozawa said, leaning on his desk, both he and Pidgeot watching calmly. "This is your tournament prize. This prize will present you with a challenge, but trust me when I say that it will be _very_ rewarding in the end."_

"_B-But..." The young Gryffindor glanced at Riolu, who had come over. "What about Riolu?"_

"_He's not going anywhere, don't worry. The Pokéball knows you have a Riolu on your team; the question is, what else will end up on your team?"_

_With a quiet gulp, Harry waited and watched as the little device wiggled for quite some time – before finally halting and letting loose... a Pidgey. Recalling instructions from when he'd met Riolu, Harry met the bird at its eye-level, and soon had the confirmed-as-female Pokémon in her own Pokéball._

The group Harry had just told this story to stared at him, Hermione not included, as the Pidgey now stood on the table. She had been quickly introduced to the others, and then she had gone on to nibble on her trainer's bread, glad he didn't mind.

Pidgey – the young man had yet to give either of his Pokémon a nickname – was fairly docile, and quite kind to others, as Harry had quickly learned with Riolu's help. As all this happened, his mind returned to yesterday.

At the end of the Friday afternoon classes, the young professor had told them to be in the Great Hall by eight in the morning that Saturday, and to be prepared for anything. Hermione, being the brilliant witch she was, had set up an Undetectable Extension Charm and Weight Reducing Charm on her purse, filling it with necessary emergency items. Soon enough, with only a few seconds to spare, words suddenly appeared in the air of the hall.

_All Care of Strange Creatures Students:_

_Please take your wand, Pokémon partner, _

_the Pokéball given to you yesterday,_

_and nothing else out to the field by Hagrid's hut._

With a large flurry of movement, everyone in the class quickly left the Great Hall for their new destination. Everyone was currently discussing with each other what they thought would be the big surprise. Their guesses went from the logical, such as the professor wishing to teach them special training techniques, all the way to the wild and crazy, like Malfoy's suggestion that he would be telling them he was faking all of this. None of them had any idea how wrong they were.

_Well, here we are again._

_It's always such a pleasure._

"Hello, students!" Professor Nozawa said, his wand to his throat and expanding his voice with the _Sonorus_ spell. When the teenagers returned the greeting, his smirk widened a bit. "I suppose you're all wondering why you're out here."

There was a chorus of confirmation to this statement. The young man grinned.

"Good! Curiosity is great – but I suppose here it should be used with caution. Before we move on, would you all get into groups of three, please? Three trainers to a group!"

After some clarification of this statement, everyone had done as told. Malfoy was with Crabbe and Goyle, Harry with Hermione and Ron, Ginny with Fred and George... the groups went on and on.

"Remember your groups!" Nozawa exclaimed. "I certainly hope you all know each other's strengths and weaknesses, because you'll need them for this weekend-long assignment!"

Cue mass groans from the entire group of students.

"Don't worry, everyone," He continued. "My team and I have ensured that your other teachers know of what is going on, and with safety as the utmost priority, everything is set. Now I'm sure you all would like to know what you will be doing for such a long time."

Aromi took a moment to make sure everyone was listening, so he wouldn't have to repeat himself.

"You will all be spending the weekend in the Forbidden Forest with your group and your Pokémon partner."

To his surprise, it was silent for a time as several dozen jaws dropped. Then there was an outroar that made him roll his eyes.

"QUIET!" Aromi ordered sharply, silencing them all. "Stay calm, all of you! I told you that safety is first priority, and that it's all be set up for you to be safe, haven't I? Rest assured, no harm will come to you. The assignment is for you to rely on your group and your Pokémon partners. Your wands are for nothing more than emergencies, am I clear?"

With a unanimous nod – none of these students would like to face the young man's wrath, for fear of what it might contain – the young professor continued.

"Excellent. If you encounter such a circumstance, you are to use your wand to send up RED sparks. For now, please have one person in your group set up a clock of sorts, like so."

Using a spell he'd talked to Professor Flitwick, a little digital clock appeared by him, permanent until disspelled. After giving them the A-OK, the rest of the students did the same. Counting to make sure, Aromi was pleased to see they had all done as he'd told, including Malfoy.

"Good!" He said. "All of you have your Pokéballs from yesterday?"

Cue a large chorus of confirmation.

"Thank you. Now then, keep them with you. Remember what I said about red sparks? Well, on that note, whenever you and your group go to sleep, send up BLUE sparks. There are wild Pokémon released into this forest and once you capture a Pokémon, you are to send up GREEN sparks. You are allowed to capture one and ONLY one Pokémon right now; it is alright if you do not capture one."

With a large amount of nods and sounds of understanding, Nozawa made sure everyone was ready, then sent them into the forest and on their way. He knew what kind of Pokémon were in the forest, having personally talked to several dozen schools and safaris back home about his situation, and glad they'd helped him set this up. So once the entire group of students had gone, he took a seat and began the long, drawn-out duty of waiting and watching for the sparks.

_Oh, how we laughed and laughed_

_Except I wasn't laughing._

"I cannot _believe_ he's making us do this!" Hermione exclaimed, outraged at how Professor Nozawa was probably breaking at least half a dozen rules.

"Relax, 'Mione," Ron said, keeping an eye out for the one thing he hated most: spiders. "At least he isn't sending us to Aragog's nest..."

Both Harry and Ron shivered at the very thought. Hermione sighed and nodded, although she was still unhappy about the turn of events. As the three of them walked through the forest, with all of the Pokémon out and looking for a good place to spend the night, they also kept an eye out for any of the wild Pokémon their professor had mentioned. If all three of them captured one... that would be something quite nice to have. Which actually happened fairly quickly.

"Ah! Over there!" Ron exclaimed, turning and spotting a little creature of dark grey fur. "Umm..."

Having never memorized the Pokémon to the extent that Hermione had, he pulled out the Pokédex the students were required to keep on them at all times. When it stated the wild creature as a Poochyena, Ron was quick to have his partner, Caterpie, slow it down with string shot. With the dark-type trapped in the sticky stuff, the bug-type was quick – as ordered – to follow with a Tackle. However, equipped with very sharp claws and teeth, the Poochyena quickly returned the favor – but was brought to the edge with the next Tackle, hitting a weak point on its body.

Without a moment of hesitation, Ron threw the Pokéball just as he knew how. Turns out that the entire few days their teacher had spent making his students practice such a skill worked; the ball had hit its target head-on... and after a couple of rolls, the Poochyena was captured. With a sigh of immense relief, the redhead picked it up and decided to wait a while before letting it out.

"Good job, Ron!" Harry congratulated with a grin, before gaping. "Ron... look at Caterpie!"

The little bug-type was glowing bright white. As far as the golden trio knew, she was the only Pokémon to evolve of their class. However, right after it had become what their Pokédexes called a Metapod, it glowed a second time, leaving them confused when a Butterfree had been left behind where Caterpie recently was.

"I think I know what happened," Hermione said. "According to the Pokédex, Caterpie was at level twelve, and they usually evolve to Metapod at level seven and Butterfree at level ten. Perhaps the stone walls of Hogwarts or something kept her from evolving?"

Ron was remaining silent... before revealing that he had learned of the 'Cancel Evolution' button on the Pokédex and had been using it. Afraid that Butterfree would be mad, he refused to look her in the eye – until she convinced him that she understood why he'd done so, and that she'd known. Soon enough, everything was fine for the golden trio, as they continued their search for a good place to sleep.

Both of the flight-capable Pokémon were searching farther ahead, and very soon, Pidgey reported a good meadow nearby. Once they reached it, Hermione, in charge of keeping the time, told the group they had plenty of time before they had to rest. As a result, they decided to go ahead and set up camp, and have one person go get firewood while the other two set up the stuff they would need.

With Harry off to get flammable wood, Hermione and Ron started to set up camp. Thankfully, the young witch had foreseen this possibility – proving her Cyndaquil's decision to be proud of her wits – and packed more than enough stuff to help them with staying warm and dry for the night. By the time Harry returned, it was all set up, and they opted to leave one person in camp while the other two went on the prowl for wild Pokémon.

When Harry and Hermione had returned, they'd caught Pokémon and as a trio, they sent up blue sparks as directed. Soon, however, they also sent up green sparks. It seems that the day had gone by quite quickly with all of the things they'd done to set up camp and all; in fact, they were so tired from it all that they were very quickly asleep after eating the food Hermione had brought. Each of the young trainers were seen with their Pokémon close by, and each one of them very happy and content as they dreamed wonderful and cheerful dreams.

_Under the circumstances,_

_I've been shockingly nice._

While the golden trio, along with all of the other groups of students, had been having quite a time in the safe zone of the forest, Aromi had spent the time watching carefully for the sparks he'd asked for. Once the green ones had started going up, he kept track... until he noticed that all groups had sent some up. Content with these results, the young professor smiled and stood, stretching.

"Aren't you going to watch for the rest of the night?" Espeon, at his side, asked.

"No," Nozawa said calmly. "Since each group has sent up green sparks, and I know that there are several dozen barriers set up and all of the magical creatures in there know what's going on, I'm confident the students are safe. Besides, I've got a spell ready to wake me if red sparks are sent up."

"...Oh. You know, this magic thing is very convenient."

Nozawa chuckled as he smiled and nodded. Then he grunted as Espeon leapt into his arms, purring and smiling. The young man rolled his eyes at her, smiling anyway. Then he sighed when he saw Professor Umbridge waiting just inside the doorway to the castle.

"Professor Nozawa," She said, her voice dangerously calm. "I do hope you're not just leaving the students in the forest to die?"

Aromi couldn't help it; the very suggestion made him laugh.

"Don't be ridiculous, Professor Umbridge," Aromi said, smiling. "I can guarantee you that there will be no problems."

"How can you be so sure?" The calmness hadn't left, and this was the trainer's clue that this wasn't just a two-person conversation.

"Well, first of all," Nozawa began, gently petting Espeon. She immediantly connected to his mind telepathically. "I made sure their safety came first. Don't worry about it."

_What's up, Aromi?_ Espeon asked, curious. It was rare that he had to use the type of petting he just used. They had come up with it a while back when Team Galactic was at large, and it was a way for him to communicate to her without saying a word.

_Would you search around nearby for an extra mind? _He replied silently. _I get the feeling there's a third person in on this conversation._

_Hmm... _After a moment, the psychic-type responded. _You're right. From what I can see, it's another member of the ministry._

"Well, what are you going to do if one of them becomes hurt?" Umbridge asked smugly, sure that the fellow Ministry of Magic staffer was well hidden and would get him.

"Just as sure as I am about your friend not hurting me," Nozawa said, now pointing his wand at said person, Espeon standing on the ground before him.

Umbridge, quick to see that she had been wrong about her coworker being invisible, pulled out her own wand – but soon found it gone and in her fellow professor's hands _again_. Of course, so was the her coworker's, but that was beside the point. The young man sighed, as Espeon's eyes stopped glowing.

"I've told you time and again, Professor Umbridge," Nozawa said, his voice cold. "Let me put it this way if it will help: you are too _weak_ and _slow_ to catch me or my team members. So why don't you just shut up and leave us alone for once?"

With that, the young professor walked away, heading to the Headmaster's office. Umbridge slowly stood, knowing both her wand and her colleague's were going to be confiscated. Growling angrily, she stormed her way back to her office, hoping to get rid of the enigma that was Aromi Nozawa soon...

* * *

**Credits:** Quote spoken by GLaDOS in _Portal 2_. Song lyrics from "Want You Gone" by Jonathon Coulton, also featured in _Portal 2._

**A/N:** Alright, that's it for this chapter! I hope you like it, readers! ^_^ If it seems rushed, I apologize, but that's how it is. Either way, reviews are well appreciated! :D


	13. Chapter 13

**A/N:** Alright, here you are everyone, the next chapter of this story! Yay! ^-^

* * *

_**Chapter Thirteen**_

_Thank Your Lucky Star You've Gotten This Far._

A yawn, and a stretch. Then another yawn. Followed by quickly laying back down and curling into a ball to try to go back to sleep. Someone nearby sighed, before using a spell to splash the sleepyhead with cold water.

"Ack!" Exclaimed Ron, as he bolted upright. He already knew who'd done it. "What was that for, 'Mione?"

"It's almost noon!" She exclaimed. "We have five minutes to pack up and get back at the instructed time!"

Ron glanced at the floating clock nearby. He jumped out of the sleeping bag in an instant. Within moments, everything was packed – the trio thanking the gods for magic due to its assistance – and they raced as quickly as they could to the meeting spot. The moment they reached the field, one of the professors of their class, the Luxray, noticed and laughed good-naturedly.

"Don't worry, you're on time," Kyashii giggled, making them sigh with relief as they got into their appointed spots. "My trainer's on his way."

As the large population of students waited, minutes passed. And Nozawa was nowhere in sight. After a few more minutes, with it growing more and more awkward with every passing moment, Kyashii sighed and asked for Sara, Nozawa's Pidgeot, to go look for him. The female bird Pokémon took off and was gone quite quickly. Then the Luxray stepped forward, and spoke.

"I apologize for the delay," She began. "I do not know what is preventing my trainer from – ah, there he is!"

In the background, one could hear an argument going on actively between Nozawa and another professor. The shrill voice made the Gryffindors, Hufflepuffs, and Ravenclaws sigh/groan and the Slytherins smirk.

"They could have DIED!" Umbridge shrieked into Nozawa's ears – and many of the students' as they worked their way to the front of the group. She seemed oblivious to this, her rage blinding her to the fact he'd walked out here. "You had NO right to just leave them out there in the forest!"

"Professor Umbridge..." Nozawa began, now at the place where he was going to talk to his classes.

"No, you hear me out!" Her shrill voice cut him off. "I will see to it that you are fired and a more SUITABLE person is found for this position!"

The powerful trainer opened his mouth, but sighed when she continued to rant the hell out of the young man. After a while, he was sick of it.

"Professor Umbridge," Nozawa growled, snapping at last. "_SHUT! UP!_"

Umbridge froze, her mouth agape. No one had _dared_ to say that to her face. Before she could say anything else, the young man forced his anger and annoyance aside to address the students, casting _Sonorus_ once again.

"I thank you all for your patience!" He said, bringing to his colleague's attention that she had inadvertently been led here. "First, my... _colleague_... has brought up a good point."

There was a pause as the students wondered what he was talking about.

"If you have died, please raise your hand."

Several chuckles and giggles were heard seconds later. They intensified when Fred and George raised their hands, before grasping each other's shoulders, and yelling something about "I'll see you on the other side, FredorGeorge" before over-dramatically falling over, and without missing a beat, Ginny was soon gasping and over-dramatically yelling "Noooooooooooooo" on her knees.

Umbridge, flushed with rage, stormed and stalked back up to the castle. Once it died down, the professor went on to tell them to head back to their dorms. They had no homework, other than to get to know the Pokémon they may have captured. With that, the crowd dispersed as Nozawa talked to Kyashii. The Luxray was giggling still, quite entertained by the display made by the Weasley siblings.

"Hee hee, they really are like Lucario and Espeon!" She giggled, making Nozawa grin.

As they entered the castle, Nozawa sighed upon seeing Umbridge returning with Dumbledore in tow. When he asked what had happened, the young man explained it as best and as calmly as he could. He refused to show any emotions at all. Afterwards, it was decided by the headmaster that Nozawa had handled it perfectly fine, and that the students were fine, leaving the current DADA professor seething and stalking off to her office. It was then that Nozawa took the oppurtunity to talk with the headmaster about an idea he had in mind.

_Six o'clock, already?_

_I was just in the middle of a dream..._

_I was kissin' Valentino,_

_By a crystal blue Italian stream._

Up in the Gryffindor common room, the group of students were discussing their experiences in the forest. They all agreed that although it had been scary at first, it had turned out quite alright in the end. As it turns out, several things had happened during that time. Harry had captured an Absol, Hermione a Natu, Ron a Poochyena. Ron's Caterpie had also evolved into a Butterfree, and on that same subject, Ginny's Milotic had also evolved!

The professor had helped her get the Pokémon to achieve the necessary requirements, and the change had happened in the forest. The event was known to the classes as a 'Capture Weekend'. Apparently, they were going to have several more throughout the school year, in order to build their team up to the limit set by the official Pokémon League rules – six Pokémon per trainer. Either way, however, everyone was excited and indeed, very happy with the results of their time in the forest. They continued to talk and chat, as their Pokémon did the same.

_But I can't be late,_

_'Cause then I guess I won't get paid._

_These are the days,_

_You wish your bed was already made._

After the entire day of Monday had passed, once that day's classes had been completed for the select few students who signed up for them, the group known as Dumbledore's Army met once again. Just as last time, the ever-popular Professor Nozawa was there as well, Kyashii at his side this time.

"Umm..." Harry began to speak, roll having been taken and everyone having been proven to be present. He had planned this the day before, with Hermione and Ron. "Today... I was hoping we could get a Pokémon battle demonstration or some advice from Professor Nozawa..."

Aromi didn't bother hiding his surprise, a simple raise of the eyebrow. From the murmurs of the group, he could tell that they were, indeed, quite interested, and perhaps had some questions. Most of the students here were in his classes, anyway.

"Alright," He said, shrugging at the idea. "Why not? What would you like to see, or would you all like to ask questions first?"

At this, Harry, along with Riolu, smiled. Pidgey asked Riolu about it, and the Emenation Pokémon quickly took up the duty of explaining what they'd witnessed earlier in the year. As this went on, the raven-haired young man invited to come up front. Almost immediantly, Hermione's hand was up in the air. Nozawa chuckled good-naturedly.

"Always the inquirer, eh?" He grinned. She blushed at this, but remained determined to ask.

"I have a question about your battle earlier this year," Hermione began. "During the battle, attacks were going by fast enough that the Omnioculars had trouble keeping up, even in their slow-paced mode. How is it you and Cynthia were able to think that quickly?"

Nozawa nodded, understanding her confusion. After a moment, he spoke.

"Well..." He began, thinking of how to phrase it. "You all have done wizarding spars, haven't you?"

Imagine a large group of people confirming this.

"It's similar in that kind of thought process," He explained. "You don't really _think_ as much as read the opponent's actions. Like if you see someone waving their wand a specific way, you get an idea of what spell they're going for, and so you respond appropietely. It's kind of the same with Pokémon battles. It takes a lot of practice and skill, but in a high-level battle, both trainers are able to do it.

"When two high-level trainers meet and battle, they usually don't know the other's style. However, they both have such firm trust in their Pokémon that the trainer and their Pokémon seem to be thinking the exact same thing. So when that trainer calls an attack, it's more of an automatic reaction, a habit if you will. As you all continue to do battles in my class, the verbal call of an attack will become automatic to you. Hence the reason that, even as high-level trainers fight and read each other and their Pokémon, they speak the commands simply from force of habit. Does that make sense?"

There was another chorus of nods and such. Then Fred asked if the professor had advice for becoming more profecient in battling.

"Simple," Aromi said. "Set up a partners chart. Practice battling against your partner until you can recite each other's strategies in your sleep. Then change partners, and do it again. For example, have Harry team up with Ron, and once they could tell you in explicit detail how their partner uses their strategy, have them change partners. By doing so, you become used to the way one person works, but because of the forced change, you're thrown off-guard. Not only will it teach you new strategies and such, but you'll soon learn the way your new partner works as well.

"Do so for about five different team mates, then go back to the one your were original partnered up with, and battle them again. You'll be surprised by how much things will have changed between the both of you. Going back to my original example, after Harry has battled several friends, I have no doubt he would be thrown off-guard by Ron's new ideas and strategies. People change; and that's why it's important to rotate partners. So why don't you all set up a chart and start?"

Within a few minutes, that is exactly what they did. Almost by Nozawa's prediction, Harry was partnered up with Ron. Hermione teamed with Ginny, Fred was against George, and so on. The large group continued their practicing until the Pokémon couldn't take anymore. Then the DA group split to their common rooms, to rest and try to comprehend what they would do to throw their work partners off the next time they battled.

_It's just another manic Monday,_

_I wish it were Sunday._

_'Cause that's my fun day._

_My 'I don't have to run' day._

_It's just another manic Monday,_

"So, Aromi, what did you do with that group today?"Lucario asked his trainer, as they returned from a day of hardcore training out at the Quidditch field.

"I helped them learn how to read an opponent in a Pokémon battle," Nozawa said with a grin at the thought, as they reached the room they were staying in. There, he, with Kyashii's help, explained what had happened that day. After a few moments of silence...

"Dibs on going with you next!" Two voices exclaimed at the same time. Without missing a beat, all the others laughed at Espeon and Algida's expense, who soon joined in.

"I was actually thinking of taking all of you," Aromi admitted, smiling. He explained his idea, and it was quite quickly approved. They were all eager for his new idea.

_Have to catch an early train._

_Got to be to work by nine,_

_And if I had an air-o-plane,_

_I still couldn't make it on time._

After a few more, somewhat tense days, the group of students and professor met once again in the Room of Requirement. As it turns out, the professor had been planning to use his previously-given advice as homework for his classes. In fact, the members of DA had been given it no more than two days before the rest of the students in the class. As a result, they were slightly ahead and knew what to do in an instant. However, they kept up with their own schedules as well, planning to keep it up for a while... however, it turns out that there was a surprise in store for them, as soon as Nozawa arrived and Harry grinned, along with his Pokémon.

"Alright, everyone," Harry began to say, getting their attention. Some were confused about his obvious excitement, while some just smiled as a result, the grin being quite infectious. "Professor Nozawa has a little something special planned just for us today. Professor?"

Nozawa grinned, coming forward. He quickly asked everyone to back up. Quite a bit. Then he quickly released five of his six Pokémon, making the majority of the group gasp in surprise.

"Professor...?" Ginny began, voicing the group's confusion.

"My team is quite interested in what you all are currently doing," Aromi began, grinning. "So we decided to give you all a demonstration. Lucario, Rikku?"

With that, the two mentioned Pokémon went forward, while the others backed up. The young man went to what could only be described as the judge's spot. Once there, he began to explain.

"Alright, so as we spoke of last time," He said. "It's all about reading the opponent's movements, anticipating their next move, and responding in time. My team will be helping me demonstrate what we mean. Lucario and Rikku will be exchanging a few blows at their regular speed, then we'll move on. As you can see, one Pokémon is not out yet; that is for the next show. Now, then, go for it!"

With that, both Pokémon launched their attacks almost instantly. After several blows got in, they stopped upon their trainer's orders. He began to explain the next part of his plan. The students and their Pokémon were, once again, in awe at the speed and power behind each and every strike. They looked to be nothing more than a blur!

"As I can see from your expressions," Aromi said, grinning. The result made the students stop gaping with a resounding_ click_ from shutting their jaws. He chuckled for a moment. "You're all quite impressed by the way these two move. Good work, both of you."

Lucario and Rikku just smirked at him, eager to move on. He rolled his eyes.

"You can go full-blast another time," He said calmly. "Anyway, now these two will move much, much slower. Watch closely."

With that, the two Pokémon did just as he said. Right when Lucario began to move his arms back, preparing to attack, he stopped at his trainer's command.

"I want someone to guess what Lucario is about to use, and suggest to Rikku what he should do in response," Nozawa said quickly. His team had already agreed to this earlier, thus the water-/steel-type was fine with it. Surprisingly, it was Neville who called out.

"Lucario's using Aura Sphere!" He exclaimed, looking to Rikku. "Uh... I think you should dodge before attacking back!"

The moment the round-faced boy had finished speaking, the aura Pokémon did, indeed, use the expected attack. Just as was suggested, Rikku dodged, and froze before he gave his counter, and the process was repeated, with Hermione being the correct one this time. After a couple more exchanges, it ended, and the Pokémon stepped back. Having to stop every time before they attacked was hard work; it was tough to stop right before that moment because of how automatic it was for them to just follow through and do it. Lucario and Rikku stepped back, while Nozawa stepped forward.

"Alright, I need a volunteer," He said loudly. After a few moments, Harry stepped forward... only after everyone else stepped back. The young man chuckled, as the raven-haired boy went across from his professor, assuming the position for a battle. "Relax, we're not going to actually battle; I'm not _that_ mean."

Harry sighed with relief, and relaxed a bit more.

"How many of you know about the quick-draw?" Aromi said to the crowd. He nodded to the many raised hands. "Well, those of you who don't, you'll know soon enough – because that this next exercise. By the way, everyone, this is a technique to be shown to all the classes soon. Kyashii, would you count down from three?"

The Luxray nodded, as Harry instantly understood. This was to see how quickly he could bring out a Pokémon in comparison to his professor.

"One!" Kyashii exclaimed, and Harry reached for his Pokéball as quickly as he could. Sure, it was empty, but all that mattered was how quickly he got it out.

"Go!" He exclaimed instinctively, grabbing one from the belt he and all of Nozawa's students wore under their robes in easy-to-reach places.

However, by the time he'd pulled the ball off his belt, Nozawa's Espeon was standing there, with the man smirking. Harry faltered at this, causing Espeon to giggle and Nozawa to grin.

"Don't worry, it's normal for a novice trainer," Nozawa commented. "But you did quite well for one. Really."

Harry smiled slightly at the compliment.

"This is another exercise for you all to try," Aromi continued. "I will be introducing it to everyone else soon, but you'll all just get a head-start. Anyway, Harry, let me tell you your results."

The Boy-Who-Lived blinked before nodding, curious.

"It took you three seconds to recognize what Kyashii had said," The Professor began. "Two seconds to push past your robes, three seconds to reach the Pokéball. Two seconds to grab it, three to pull it off your belt, four to bring it forward, and if you'd followed through, probably another five seconds to actually throw it. Another three to release the Pokémon, and maybe another seven to call the first command. That, Mr. Potter, is a grand total of thirty-two seconds. More than enough time to bring out a Pokémon and call an attack... for _me,_ at least."

"It took you a total of about six seconds to do all that," Sara said, having timed her trainer to compare the reaction times.

"And that, everyone, is the speed of almost every high-level trainer out there," Aromi said, confirming everyone's suspicions. "I suggest that you all practice your reaction times as well as the reading of not only your opposing trainer, but their Pokémon as well. You should probably start with the Pokémon reactions. Use that clock spell I taught you all earlier to come up with a timer. Partner up and take turns timing each other's reactions."

That is exactly what they did, but unfortunately for the majority of the students, none of them seemed to go below twenty seconds. They were, however, grateful for the fact that their professor assured them that their current speed was normal for trainers of their current skill level. Even so, most, if not all, of them were impressed once more by the young man, and they were quietly discussing this as they soon left for their dorms.

_'Cause it takes me so long_

_Just to figure out what I'm gonna wear._

_Blame it on the train,_

_But the boss is already there._

"Wow, that was actually a lot of fun!" Espeon exclaimed, happy at the way the students had so eagerly trained while their Pokémon rested from their constant practice battles.

"And it's going quite well, huh?" Lucario commented, as they reached their room.

"Yeah, I can't wait to see how much better they'll be at the end of the school year," Aromi said, grinning at the thought.

"Say, what are you planning to do then?" Algida asked, curious. "You said something about the Headmaster approving your idea."

"Can't hide anything from you," Nozawa chuckled, as he prepared for bed. "Well, don't tell anyone, but at the end of the year, I plan on taking some students back with us. Let them have a whirlwind tour of Sinnoh. Maybe even see how far they get in the league."

This brought up a whole bunch of quiet talking from the team, as they all discussed this plan. It seemed like a good idea, since it would help those students become better trainers, and expose them to how other trainers did things. The talk continued all the way until everyone in the castle had fallen asleep...

* * *

**A/N:** Well, I sincerely hope you all like this rather short chapter and that I surprised you with Nozawa's plans! :D If you have the time, please leave a review!


	14. Chapter 14

**A/N:** Alright, guys, here's the next chapter. I really hope you enjoy it. :)

* * *

_**Chapter Fourteen**_

_If At First You Succeed, Try Not to Look Astonished_

Desperately shaking the sleeping young man wasn't doing any good. No matter what Riolu tried, his beloved trainer, Harry would wake up. Even with both Pidgey and Absol helping, nothing worked to wake up their trainer. Eventually, Riolu had no choice but to stop and rest, even though he desperately wanted to help the young trainer.

"What should we do?" Pidgey asked Riolu, also unsure of what to do.

A few weeks have passed since the last Capture Weekend, and the second one had been announced that it was set for after the christmas break. Right now, Harry was currently being tortured by nightmare after nightmare. It's been going on for several days, now, and all of the young man's Pokémon were confused and unsure of what to do. Even Absol, who had recently recognized how similar he and Harry were – in terms of them both having large groups of people disliking them and such – cared deeply about the trainer. Riolu, recognized as kind of the unofficial leader of the group, came to a decision.

"Absol, would you go get Professor Nozawa?" Riolu asked, hoping said man could help. He knew how much Harry wanted to keep these a secret from the headmaster.

Absol nodded and quickly ran off. Pidgey and Riolu made sure to keep an eye on their trainer, and were trying to do it silently in order to not wake the other humans in the dormitory. Even as the raven-haired teen tossed and turned, his mind showing him going down an endless row of hallways just as it did in previous nights, the Pokémon were left to worry incredibly deeply. The thrashing had never been this bad before. After the first night, they had taken turns keeping an eye on their human partner.

_One five seven two eight._

_One five seven two eight._

_Quelques questions._

_Seven two eight._

Groaning as a loud pounding rang through the bedroom, Aromi pushed himself out bed and went to the door, throwing on a robe as he did so. Opening it, he spotted Harry's Absol, Espeon by his side and rubbing her eyes. A couple members of his team were doing the same as they listened in.

"What's up?" Aromi asked, not bothering to hide how tired he is. Glad that he had taught the sutdents that translation spell so that they could finally understand their Pokémon, he listened as best he could with how tired he was.

"It's my trainer," Absol explained shortly, slightly breathless from the run to the room. He would've said 'master', but his trainer had explicitly told him not to do so.

Aromi snapped to fully awake in that instant, as one of his secondary jobs to make sure the young Potter was alright, as ordered by the headmaster. Espeon did the same, sensing her trainer's slight alarm. The man turned around, and in the shadow of behind the door, threw on some of his usual clothes before nodding for Absol to lead the way, grabbing something he thought would help on his way.

_D'o viens tu?_

_One five_

_Mari?_

_Domicile?_

After reaching the Gryffindor tower, Absol quickly got the portrait to swing open with the correct password – although she complained at being woken up – and both Pokémon along with Aromi dashed up the stairs. Admittedly, he wasn't supposed to be the in the dorm room, but in this situation, to hell with the rules. Riolu looked up at the door when the experienced, older trainer came over.

"Professor..." Riolu began, pleading for help. "Please, can you do anything?"

"...I'll do my best, Riolu," Nozawa said, smiling gently. Then he quietly went over to the correct bed side, and pulled out the object he'd grabbed.

"What's that?" Pidgey asked, her curiosity getting the better of her.

"It's called a Lunar Wing."

The Pokémon, minus Espeon who knew of it already, glanced at each other. They had learned about many items over the past week. This wing was rumored to be from Cressalia. Gently holding the wing by the necklace, Aromi held it above Harry – and watched calmly as the wing glowed brilliantly. After a full minute, however, the glow died down, and although the raven-haired teen was no longer tossing and turning, Riolu could still sense the nightmare – and that it had changed. Nozawa frowned deeply.

"That's not right," He mumbled to himself, then spoke a little louder. "If even a Lunar Wing won't wake Mr. Potter up... then this isn't just a simple nightmare. This is a vision."

As if that was the trigger, the teenager sat up sharply, suddenly. After taking a second to wake up, Harry recognized the professor.

"Professor!" Harry exclaimed, breathless, and from the lack of color on the boy's face, Aromi had been correct. "Please, I need to see the headmaster, it's urgent!"

Aromi didn't waste a second. Espeon had had visions before, as a psychic-type, and thus the experienced trainer knew what to do. The best thing right now, if Harry was this frightened, was to do as requested. With a nod, the professor turned to Espeon.

"Espeon, take Mr. Potter to see the headmaster," Aromi said. "Is there anyone else that should come?"

Harry took only a split second to think, then realized that Ron and Hermione needed to know. Once the professor had convinced the raven-head to go, with Riolu at his side, Aromi got to work.

"Pidgey, you're the only girl here," Nozawa began. "So you're the only one allowed in the girls' dorm. Go wake up Ms. Granger and take her to the headmaster's office. Absol, go find Professor McGonnagal. As the head of Gryffindor, she has a right to know about this."

_Seven two eight_

_Ready ready_

_Pas de domicile?_

Very quickly, a large group of Weasleys, McGonnagal, Nozawa, and their Pokémon were gathered in Dumbledore's office. Two Order of the Pheonix members had already been dispatched to see to Mr. Weasley. Once the old man had set up a portkey, and the large group minus the Pokémon class professor had left, the two left behind began to talk.

"So Harry continues to grow..." Dumbledore sighed. "And as he grows, so does Voldemort's power."

"Headmaster," Aromi began to say. "I wanted to talk to you about this coming summer. You mentioned some time ago that the charm on Mr. Potter requires time at his family's household each summer, right?"

"Indeed, I did, Aromi," Dumbledore said, nodding. "What is it you are wishing to propose?"

Very quickly, the young professor explained his idea, and was quite pleased when the headmaster agreed to it. While it was true that the charm upon the Dursley's home required Harry to be there for it to recharge every year, the teenager needed some time to relax and grow – _away_ from that abusive family. The Order would figure out a way to keep the family safe for the summer in order to allow it. With that, the young professor soon excused himself back to bed, along with Espeon.

_Zero zero zero one one_

_Zero zero zero one one_

_Zero zero zero one one_

_Zero zero zero one one_

_Ready_

Harry was sitting upon the bed he slept in at Number Twelve, Grimmauld Place. It was where he had stayed over the summer before and after his hearing at the Ministry. A portrait from Dumbledore's office had passed the message for him to stay put, and even though the vague answer hadn't convinced him, Hermione and Ginny had, and he had gone on to enjoy the Christmas break.

Sometime ago, Mad-Eye Moody had confided to Mr. Weasley – whom had been the one to suffer the attack Harry'd seen, and was alive and healing at St. Mungo's – and this had been heard by the group of teens through Fred and George's infamous Extendable Ears. By now, however, it had been a full day and they were all about to leave to visit Ron's father again, everyone now feeling alright that everything had turned out okay. As he prepared to leave, Harry wondered which Pokémon he should take. Ron was taking Butterfree, Hermione Cyndaquil. They would have the others with them in Pokéballs, of course.

"Absol, would you come visit Mr. Weasley with me?" Harry asked the disaster Pokémon, whom nodded. The other two were going to stay behind and catch up on some sleep they'd missed while taking care of their trainer.

As the group of them walked through the hallways, they were kind of surprised to see Neville and his grandmother there. Ron explained, having heard about it from his parents, that Neville's parents had been tortured into lunacy by none other than Bellatrix Lestrange, one of the Dark Lord's most loyal followers. Quickly letting it go, the group of friends arrived at Mr. Weasley's room, and quickly began to talk with him.

Soon enough, however, led to them all returning home for another good night's sleep. When everyone finally woke up, and Harry walked downstairs to where everyone including the Pokémon were, he was surprised by what he saw there.

"Professor Nozawa?" The young man said sharply, surprised, watching as the man carefully petted Absol. Said Pokémon, despite himself, enjoyed the gesture.

"Hello, Harry," Aromi said, grinning. "Since we're out of school, I can call you that, right?"

"Uhh... yeah... what are you doing here?" Harry smiled as he watched Absol. The dark-type realized just then how much he was smiling from the petting, and pulled away from Aromi, making those that were paying attention laugh quietly.

"Didn't the Headmaster tell you? As long as I'm here, I'm part of the order."

"No, he didn't say anything... but why are you here?"

"Well, Professor Snape's here, too. Apparently to teach you Occlu-something-or-other."

"Occlumency," Snape drawled from behind Harry. The teen forced down his revulsion, and turned to face the teacher. "The defense of the mind. Dumbledore feels it necessary that I teach it to you, though I fail to see what good it would do someone like Potter."

Harry was tempted to snap at the man, but pulled back his retort just in time. He learned at breakfast from Aromi – Snape remained silent – what he was going to be learning from the potions professor. It required one to empty their mind of all thoughts and such, to protect said mind. Voldemort, a proficient Legilimens – the means for a wizard to read another's mind – was the one that Harry would be protecting himself against. If it went well, his scar might even stop bothering him!

"Just remember, Harry," Aromi said, smiling as Espeon purred from how said boy was petting her. "If the Occlumency doesn't work for you, you're to tell the Headmaster. That way Espeon can teach you _our_ methods of protecting your own mind."

"I doubt," Snape sneered at his colleague. "That there is a better way to protect your mind than through proper Occlumency training."

"Wanna bet?" Espeon snapped. She was _not_ happy about her methods being doubted. "How about you try to break into my mind, and I'll show you how a _real_ psychic does it?"

"Fine," Snape said, standing as Espeon did the same. She remained on the table, staring fearlessly into Snape's eyes, as the man leveled his wand at her. "_Legilimens!_"

A glow from the man's wand clued all at the table in that it was working. Aromi was the only one that wasn't worried at all – and he went so far as to bet against Fred and George that it would take less than a minute for Snape to not only fail, but to be completely floored as well. Needless to say, the twins took to the challenge. Their in-school sales of their joke items had given them enough to double to bet, as well. The moment they did, however, Espeon's eyes glowed a fierce purple, and her trainer's prediction became true. The greasy-haired man was now lying on the floor, trying to stand, as Espeon's glow ended, a smug smirk on her face. Several moments passed once Snape was seated again.

"I suppose..." He began, albeit reluctantly. Even he couldn't deny the effectiveness of what she'd done; especially if it had been enough to make _him_ be knocked onto the floor. "That your method is acceptable."

Espeon, smiling smugly from the statement, walked over the table back to Harry, hoping to be petted once more. She stopped when she heard the clinking sound of galleons being passed around, and quickly rounded on her trainer. Aromi didn't even bother to hide the coins as he accepted them from the twins, grinning the entire time.

"Did you really bet on me?" Espeon asked her trainer.

"Of course!" Aromi said with a grin. "Who am I to miss a chance to strip these troublemakers of their money?"

Espeon couldn't stop the giggle that came forth, even as she rolled her eyes. It was enough to get the table to laugh, especially as the twins gave a defiant cry of "Hey!" from the professor's rhetorical question. It stopped when, Tonks, the resident hair color-changer, apparently knocked over something as she stood from the table. The noise made a loud, screeching, bordering-on-banshee voice shrill through the house.

"What in Arceus' name is that?" Aromi exclaimed, turning to Sirius.

Said man explained it was an enchanted portrait of his biological mother and that there was no charm they knew that would shut her up. After a moment of thought, Aromi gave a dangerous grin and ran out to the hall, before others could go out there and shut the curtains. Those at the yet-to-be-served-breakfast table glanced at each other, before going after him.

"FILTH!" Screeched the woman in the portrait. "BLOODTRAITORS! MUDBLOODS!"

"_SHUT! UP!_" Aromi yelled in response, as the others arrived. In the instant that she heard and turned to look at him and spotted the wand in his hand, she spoke again.

"WHO ARE YOU TO ORDER ME AROUND! ME, THE MISTRESS OF THE BLACK FAMILY!"

Aromi rolled his eyes, oblivious to the crowd, as he grabbed Algida's Pokéball off his belt. With the portrait woman distracted from this, it went unnoticed by her, but noticed by the others. He let her out, and when she heard the voice, she instantly knew what to do.

"_SHUT THE HELL UP!_" Nozawa yelled again, once again making the portrait silent for the moment. "Algida! Now!"

In an instant, the infamous Queen of Time began charging her greatest attack – Roar of Time. With the portrait as her sole target, she fired – and the woman in the portrait froze as her mouth opened. Completely froze. Sirius ran over, and closed the curtains, which didn't fight back this time, before turning to the man and the impressive-looking creature, despite being in her smaller size.

"What'd you do?" The ragged-looking man asked, eyes wide.

"It was simple, really," Algida shrugged. "When she had stopped screeching like that, I used my attack to freeze her in time. It should last for about two or three weeks."

The group, minus those that had seen it before – basically, Aromi's students – stared incedulously. The professor chuckled, before telling Algida to chill out in the living room while he got some food ready for them. Letting out the rest of his team before going into the kitchen, Kyashii following and Espeon staying out in the living room to rest with her teammates, the man went and began to work on some food for the team. Then he popped out his head.

"Oh!" He began. "How about the students in my classes let out their Pokémon, and come in and learn how to make type-specific food?"

The students, already used to their teacher's ways, agreed and nodded. The larger, more powerful team greeted the newcomers openly. Riolu, Butterfree, Cyndaquil, Minun and Plusle followed their trainers into the kitchen to also watch. Molly realized just then that she had lost control of the kitchen that easily to someone who was not only younger than her, but probably didn't know how to even cook. She raced into the kitchen, to find that the young man was actually doing quite well.

"Hello, Mrs. Weasley," Nozawa said, once he spotted her. "Don't worry, I'm cooking up some breakfast as well. Bacon and eggs alright?"

The chorus of confirmations from the teens in the room made the man laugh as he continued working on said meals, even with the food for the Pokémon cooking. Pretty quickly, the food for the humans in the building was cooked, and shortly thereafter, the Pokémon got their breakfast as well. When Mrs. Weasley saw what had been cooked for the creatures, she made quite the face.

"Just in the world is that?" She asked bluntly.

"Homemade Pokémon food," Nozawa answered, raising an eyebrow at the reaction. "Don't worry about it, Mrs. Weasley. It tastes far better than it looks, trust me."

"It really is," Kyashii cut in, nodding, as they went out to the living room. The few that were students of Nozawa helped hand out the food, leaving some with the ones eating in the kitchen/dining room. "I'll admit that it looks horrible, but it's not that bad, really."

"So, Professor," Hermione began to say, once every Pokémon had been given food and everyone else was at the table. The Pokémon there had been eating human food for quite some time, and were wary to try the Pokémon food. The brilliant girl had been taking notes the entire time. "Every Pokémon type needs different combinations of ingredients, right?"

"That's right," Nozawa nodded, as everyone began to eat the food. Kyashii paused in her eating when she noticed the Pokémon in the room looking tentative and rolled her eyes.

"Oh come on, at least try it," The Luxray said with a smile to the creatures.

They looked at each other, then they all looked at Riolu, who looked affronted at the silent choice of him being the first victim. He carefully took a bite... before lighting up and digging in as well. The rest of the Pokémon looked at each other, then at Riolu, then at their food. Soon, they were also eating their portions of breakfast quite happily.

"How is it?" Nozawa asked the Pokémon. "Trainers, take not of this. One of our future subjects is to learn how to cook for your teams, and I am not joking."

With that, all of his students glanced at each other. They excused themselves from the table – except for Hermione, since she was already prepared – dashed upstairs, grabbed their parchment and quills and ink wells, and soon returned to take note of what their Pokémon partners said could be better about the recipe. Soon enough, everyone had finished eating, and as Mrs. Weasley went to make more, she paused upon the compliments.

"Wow, Aromi," Remus said, last to finish. "I didn't think you'd be such a great cook."

"Heh," Aromi smiled sheepishly. "Lots of practice, I guess."

"You travel on your own, right?" Mr. Weasley asked, finally home for the holidays, but still bandaged a bit.

"Yeah," Aromi nodded, petting Kyashii when she walked over to where he sat at one end of the table. Her purring made him, and some of the others, smile. "My team and I have been traveling around since I was about ten. Most of the Pokémon Trainers where I come from start at that age, because that's the age that people are allowed to get their Trainer License."

"Ten-year-old kids? Travelling alone?" Mrs. Weasley exclaimed, quite obviously protesting appalled.

"With their parents' permission, of course," Nozawa said, nodding again. "Don't worry about it, Mrs. Weasley, it's a well controlled system. Not only do the trainers usually have a great time going through their journey with their team, they and their Pokémon learn a lot, too."

"Well, how old are you now?" Remus asked, curious.

"As of last April, I'm eighteen."

"You've been travelling on your own for eight years?" Sirius asked, his eyebrows raised quite high, just like those of the others at the table. The young man confirmed this. "Explains why you're such a good cook, I guess."

"Yeah, like I said, lots of practice. Hey, there's a meeting tonight, right?"

"Yes, there's a meeting tonight," Mad-Eye said in his usual gruff manner.

Nozawa nodded, already planning something. As the morning went on, the young professor told some stories to those willing to listen about his adventures, and answered some of the questions that were asked. Oh, if only they knew what he had to say at the meeting...

* * *

**Credits:** Quote is from an anonymous source (read: unkown source). Song lyrics from "Alien Champion" by the band "Trocadero".

**A/N:** Well, readers, I hope you enjoyed this chapter, and if you did (or didn't), review and tell me! :D


	15. Chapter 15

**A/N:** Alright, here's chapter fifteen of this wonderful story. Enjoy friends!

* * *

_**Chapter Fifteen**_

_When Life Gives You Lemons, Make Them Explosive_

_And Blow Up Life's House._

"Ha!" Nozawa chuckled, thinking of the answer to Hermione's question of 'I'm sure after you won a gym battle you celebrated, right?'. "Why yes we did, Hermione! And quite well, if I do say so myself."

"Maturely, of course," Espeon added quickly. The group listening, now in the living room for the greater amount of space, laughed quietly at the more-than-obvious sarcasm.

"Pfff! Maturely my foot!" Algida cut in at that instant, giggling madly at the memories. "When I first joined the team and helped get the eighth badge, Aromi here decided it would be a good idea to try drag me into it. I, of course, refused, especially as he started to beg like a kid. So not mature!"

"Yeah, well," Aromi countered, grinning widely. "You were just as bad, what with slipping in those little pranks to get back at Lucario and Espeon splattering you with those pies!"

Algida whistled innocently, as the rest of the team, just now learning this, either stared or exclaimed something like "that was _you_?" to her. Even the team's two troublemakers were surprised.

"Ohhh," Fred began, Minun on his shoulders and also listening intentively. George and Plusle were taking notes, as the older trainer and his team explained the various stunts they pulled. Clearly, the twins were interested. "What'd she do?"

"Well," Nozawa began, struggling – and failing – to keep from laughing. "You know how she controls time, right? She set up these little pockets of cold water in the air, set off to go at a specific time. She had looked into the future and set them up exactly where the target would be and to release at that exact moment. So for the next few days, at least one member of the team would get dunked and be absolutely confused. Back then, she was only just learning to trust us all, so not only was it really funny, it was kind of a big moment."

"And oh man," Algida said, grinning widely. "The only other legendary that knew was Mew. She's a master at pranks, and she knew what I had been planning because when we next got together, she saw right through me and got me to confess. That started an entire prank war among the legendaries."

"Oh, yeah, that was awesome!" Lucario, usually stoic, said with a broad grin. He _loved_ pranks. He laughed before continuing. "Remember that big one Algida did?"

Laughter erupted from the team, and soon Nozawa explained. As it so happens, Algida had done something due to a dare from Nozawa, whom had been insightful enough to squeeze the info out of the temporaless and give her the dare in the first place. As it turns out, she had gone with it, and similar to her cold water trick, set up a large amount of bright pink, nigh-on-impossible-to-get-out-of-fur paint above the head of someone very, very powerful – Arceus himself. It was perfect, because he was usually an easy-going dude, and had managed to stay out of the prank war up until that moment.

"So..." Nozawa said, laughing as he spoke, the group around him chuckling and/or grinning as he did. He took a deep breath to steady himself – but it failed. "While we were in the middle of the finals of the Sinnoh league, with Algida out of her Pokéball... at that very moment, there was this enormous roar that went throughout all of Sinnoh. It was quickly followed by the loudest voice of telepathy I've ever heard."

"_Algida! Roar of Time!" Nozawa ordered, both he and his friend very focused on winning this tournament. As the Dialga prepared to do so, everyone froze as the loudest roar ever recorded was, well... recorded all over Sinnoh._

"_Hold the phone!" Exclaimed the announcer. "That is one amazing sound! Reporters are saying that it was heard all over the region, which much mean that –"_

DIALGA! _The loudest, closest to furious, voice all of Sinnoh had ever heard suddenly went through everyone's heads via telepathy. Algida was instantly giving a sheepish smile to Nozawa's stare. _YOU ARE _SO_ DEAD THE NEXT TIME I SEE YOU!

_The silence of the stadium was deafening, as everyone stared at the Dialga standing right there, looking very sheepish._

"_You..." Nozawa began, staring, eyes wide. A smile was threatening to split his face. "You... actually did it? You actually took the dare?"_

Well, uhh..._ Algida said, her sheepish look growing to a great, big, equally sheepish grin. _Yeah. I, uhh... couldn't, uhh... resist the opportunity...?

_The crowd was silent. Then everyone burst out laughing, and after a few moments, so did the trouble-making legendary on the field. Soon enough, though, the battle was resumed, and shortly after that, ended in Aromi's victory. The trainer soon found out what it was that Algida had done... and she soon found out how skilled of a prankster Arceus really was. From what Algida had told her trainer, it seemed that his skills even put Mew's to shame._

Algida had the decency to look sheepish as the story was told by her trainer. Of course, she had yet to tell anybody in her team, yet, but –

_DAMN YOU, DIALGA! _Arceus' voice roared through the heads of everyone in Grimmauld Place. _NOT AGAIN!_

Nozawa was immediately staring at Algida, as was everyone else in the room.

"...One has to wonder how tempted he is to smite you right about now," Nozawa said, thereby causing everyone to crack up at last. Even Mad-Eye Moody, despite being usually emotionally solid, couldn't resist the smallest of smiles. "Say, why don't you invite him here?"

_WHAT!_ Algida cried out, mouth gaping. She had slipped back into telepathy from the shock at her trainer's suggestion. _Are you INSANE?_

"Oh, just do it," Nozawa said, rolling his eyes.

"There is no way in hell that am I contacting him right now," Algida said quickly, shaking her head almost violently.

"Fine, could you get me in contact with him?"

"Not if you're going to invite him!" Algida protested.

She did NOT want him here, especially after pulling that prank again. The worst part was that it had happened during one of the bi-weekly meetings, one she'd missed due to excusing herself to spend time with her adopted family. Nozawa rolled his eyes, and while the rest of the team continued to give stories to the gathered group, he eventually got her to connect him with Arceus.

_Who is this?_ Arceus asked, voice defensive and sharp. He didn't recognize the mind he was suddenly connected to.

_Relax,_ Nozawa said calmly. _I'm Algida's trainer._

_Oh..._ Arceus said, calming down, and glad to be able to have whatever composure he wanted since the meeting was now over and he'd used his powers to get the paint off. _Well... this is a surprise... wait, Algida? You mean Dialga?_

_Yeah, Algida's her nickname._

_She got my message right?_ Arceus asked, the threat suddenly being deemed of the utmost importance.

_Oh yeah. We all did. Just like last time._

_What do you mean you all..._ Arceus paused, sensing Giratina's mind as it connected to his.

_Dammit, Arceus, don't do that!_ Giratina growled.

Nozawa was quickly given the liberty to hear Arceus being yelled at by the Lord of the Graveyard about how the telepathic roar had thrown said lord off balance while flying and nearly crash-landed into a Distortion World building. After a little while, Mr. Graveyard left the conversation, and the two remaining held onto an awkward silence for a bit.

_So, anyway,_ Aromi quickly said, snapping Arceus out of his reverie. _It's almost Christmas time, and I was wondering..._

_What? _Arceus asked, curious. He knew he could trust this trainer. After all, if Dialga could, then so could he.

_I was going to invite you to spend the Christmas with us. _

Arceus was left silent. He... to be honest, he had spent many, many Christmas times alone, and had grown used to it. He wasn't sure if he should accept or not.

_Oh, come on, it'll be fun! _Nozawa insisted. _What's more fun than spending Christmas with friends?_

_Well... alright,_ Arceus finally conceded, smiling silently. He hadn't been invited to a Christmas party in... who knows how long.

_You'll have to be in your smaller form._

Soon enough, Nozawa cut off the connection and smiled at the story Kyashii was currently telling. Ron had asked about some of the training they'd done, and the Luxray was talking about their training on Iron Island. Lucario, however, didn't think it was all that funny when she mentioned his hatching and resulting instantaneous charge into battle. The talking paused when a small portal appeared and the large group of adults stepped in front of everyone, wands at the ready. Algida recognized, it however, and instantly glared at her trainer. The glare is what clued him in.

"Oh!" Nozawa said, stepping forward, in front of the adults. They looked at him like he was crazy, especially when he motioned for them to put away their wands. "That was fast."

"What are you doing?" Molly exclaimed, questioning his idea of trying to get them to disarm themselves.

"Look, this visitor's a friend, trust me," Nozawa explained, without turning around. "And either put those wands away yourself or I'll do it for you."

Those staring had their eyes widen at this statement. Before another word was spoken, Aromi seemed to nod to nothing, and shortly thereafter, a light blue glow surrounded all of the wands and forcefully put them a safe distance away.

"Thank you, Espeon," Aromi said, smiling to her over his shoulder, before turning back to the portal. He watched as the form of the powerful Pokémon appeared. "Hey, nice to finally meet you."

_Nice to meet you as well,_ Arceus said, nodding with a smile. Then he spotted Algida, who had a perfect 'oh crap, I'm so dead' look on her face. _Oh-ho... I can NOT wait to get you back..._

"Nozawa, who's this?" Sirius asked the young man.

"Everyone, this is Arceus," Nozawa said, turning to the group. "The Sinnoh legend says he's the one who created Pokémon in the first place."

As he and his team ignored the surprised gasps and glances from everyone else, Nozawa explained the spell he'd learned, and with Arceus' permission, cast it on the powerful legendary.

"This is great and all," Mad-Eye Moody growled at that very moment, as the door opened to reveal Snape. "But it's time for one last meeting before tomorrow."

The golden trio groaned at this, getting ready to head upstairs along with the twins. Nozawa was confused for a moment.

"Wait, where are you guys going?" Aromi asked, confused.

"We're not old enough to listen in," Fred said curtly. The lack of a smile on his face was rather disturbing to Aromi. After a moment, he made his decision.

"Well, you know what, screw that," He said shortly, getting behind them and beginning to push them into the kitchen to join in the meeting. "You get to sit in on this one, whether they like it or not."

_La-la-la-la-la_

_La-la-la-la-la_

_La-la-la-la-la_

_La-la-la-la-la_

"Aromi, what are you doing bringing those kids in here?" Professor McGonnagal asked, unsure of what her colleague was doing.

"Inviting them to sit in on the meeting," Nozawa answered bluntly, as Arceus and Espeon did the same. Algida had decided to stay in the living room – for her own safety, of course.

"What!" Molly screeched, standing abruptly and coming over to begin pushing the kids back out. "No! They are not to hear this!"

"Hey!" Nozawa exclaimed, getting in her way. "Stop, Mrs. Weasley. I'm sorry, but no; they need to hear this first-hand, and so do you all."

"NO!" Molly yelled in the young man's ear. "They are KIDS! They are NOT old enough to hear this!"

"...How rude, yelling in my ear," The young man commented. Molly suddenly realized what she did and took a step back, as Aromi rolled his eyes at her reaction. "Relax. It's not like they're in danger. Besides, they're old enough to have spent the last four or five years without their parents in school, haven't they? I think they're old enough to make their own decisions."

"Nozawa," Moody growled. "They aren't in the Order, and there are matters of secrecy that must be upheld."

Aromi threw up his arms at this, finding the denial to see that the kids were not such any longer quite frustrating. With a ferocious growl that surprised even Arceus – the trainer had seemed so calm just a moment ago – the young man slammed a hand onto the table.

"I don't care," Aromi said flatly and bluntly, his voice holding no room for argument. "I'll admit, I'm only here temporarily, and that I've only been told what's happened, but guess what? These... _kids_... as you call them, are no longer children. They have been through some damn tough stuff, and the fact that they're still standing as strongly as they are proves my point. Whether you all like it or not, they've grown up. They don't _need_ you to hold them by the hand anymore! From what I saw of Fred's rather frightening expression earlier, they don't _want_ you to, either!"

"Frightening look?" Fred asked, confused.

"Fred, you weren't smiling," Aromi explained. "There's not a single moment when I haven't seen you with a smile. I can honestly say that seeing you without one is just... it doesn't suit you."

"B-B-But... they need to be of age before joining the Order!" Molly exclaimed, a lot quieter this time. "I don't know what kind of family you grew up in that would –"

The table, and even the students, froze on the look Molly received. It stopped her in her tracks. Espeon was not surprised one bit. Arceus was, however; the rage suddenly boiling beneath the trainer's usually calm exterior was rather frightening.

"Don't you _dare_ talk about _my_ family like that," Nozawa hissed harshly. "You have _no right_ to talk about them without knowing them. Mrs. Weasley, I suggest that you sit down and _shut up_ before I really get mad."

The woman had no choice but to return to her seat. Taking a moment to take a deep breath, the tension in the air loosened just a tad.

"Anyway, whether you all like it or not," Nozawa said, utterly ignoring Mrs. Weasley, going so far as to momentarily deny her existence. "These five are going to stay. Any and all arguments otherwise and invalid. Besides, I have something to say that involves them, and before you all say something, idea has been approved by the headmaster."

"Well, then," Moody said in his usual manner. "Why don't you begin the meeting?"

"Thank you," Nozawa said with a grateful nod, standing while the others took a seat. Arceus was standing nearby, listening in as well. "My idea is simple. At the end of this year, I would like to invite Harry, Hermione, and Ron to accompany back to Sinnoh for the summer."

Imagine several voices giving their disapproval. With a roll of the eyes, Aromi quieted them down.

"Quiet!" He said harshly, effectively silencing them. "Remember what I said earlier? These three are old enough to make their own choices; that's why I'm not forcing them to do this and telling everyone now instead. Another thing – I don't care for what you adults think of this. This is their choice to make, not yours. So don't you _dare_ go trying to influence their decisions. Even better, just leave them to decide on their own."

"You mean... you mean it?" Harry asked, unsure of his current decision. Aromi nodded with a smile.

"I would enjoy having you all come along and seeing Sinnoh first hand. However, it's not going to happen until this summer, so you three don't have to decide for a couple of months. Don't worry about it right now. Just relax and enjoy Christmas break, alright? Now then... with that all said, I think I'm going to go ahead and step out."

With that, Nozawa turned, and with Espeon following, left the meeting. The room was silent for a while, even as Arceus also left, more interested in the one whom had invited him than the meeting itself. He dealt with those far too often, anyway.

_There's a place I know! It's always jumpin'!_

_I'm thinkin' we should go and leave our worries!_

_You've got a friend in me, and I'll tell you somethin':_

_This time can be extraordinary!_

"Aromi, what happened in there?" Algida asked, concerned for her trainer. Arceus watched this as well, interested in how deeply she trusted said human. It was the first time he'd witnessed it first-hand. "I could sense your anger all the way out here..."

"That..." Aromi began, then gave a heavy sigh. "Mrs. Weasley started to talk about my family. I couldn't help it. I'm sorry worrying you all."

The team accepted his apology and soon enough, things were alright again.

_When shadows fall, you're feeling small._

_It looks like the walls are closing in._

_Don't be afraid, the dark will fade!_

_Just take my hand and look again!_

Once they finally were released from the meeting, now learning that it was rather annoying to have the adults dance around what they were talking about and thus leaving the students in the dark, the golden trio promptly left for upstairs. However, when they got to the second floor, they were treated with an interesting sight.

"Ohhh, no you don't!" Aromi exclaimed, grabbing Arceus by his tail and beginning to drag him towards the stairs. "I am NOT leaving you downstairs where you can set up your counter-prank! Save it for later!"

"Hey! Let go of me!" Arceus countered, just as surprised as Algida. The rest of the Pokémon, however, were giggling and/or chuckling madly. Algida eventually fell into a giggle-fit as well.

"No way, sir! You are bunking with me! Save the pranks for another time!"

It continued to go back in forth, but unfortunately for Arceus, the human had been good enough to drag his sorry butt to the base of the stairs, where he finally caved in and climbed up them on his own will. Soon enough, the young man and his team and the guest he'd invited were fast asleep, and ready to face tomorrow morning...

* * *

**Credits:** Quote is a shortened version of one of Cave Johnson's line, spoken in Valve's amazing game of _Portal 2_. The song lyrics are from the song "This Side of Paradise" by Bree Sharp, featured in _Destiny Deoxys_.

**A/N: **Thank you all for keeping with my when it comes to my stories, and being patient for my sporadic updates! I hope that you continue to enjoy my stories and let me know by reviewing (seriously, I love getting reviews).


	16. Chapter 16

**A/N: **Alright, here's the next chapter! I really hope you all enjoy it and review! :)

* * *

_**Chapter Sixteen**_

_There's Nothing Better in the World Than Being Loved_

_Not For How You Look, But For Who You Are._

"C'mon, big guy, time to get up," someone said softly, gently shaking him awake.

"Huh...?" Moaned the one being shaken, as one eye slowly fluttered open. When it recognized the face of the perpetrator, he realized where he was. "Oh... right..."

"Awake yet? The kids are eager to get started tearing open their gifts, and their parents won't allow it until you're down there."

"Just me?" Arceus asked, confused at this as he stood up and stretched, following Aromi out of the room and to the stairs.

"Yeah, since you're the last one to wake up," Aromi explained. "I'm sure you usually sleep in, but you're with us today so you'll have to deal with it."

Arceus nodded understandingly, and smiled when, upon their arrival, the younger children were allowed to tear open their presents without pause. As per usual, pretty much everyone got themselves a hand-knitted sweater made by Mrs. Weasley. Aromi wondered silently what his family thought of what he'd gotten them, although he knew what the Pokémon on his team would like and hence the reason he got them.

He grinned his slightly-evil grin when Kyashii opened her second present – the first was from Lucario, her mate and it was a simple jewel she really liked. Either way, upon opening the second present, her face flushed furiously. Before Lucario could take a look, his trainer shoved an equally-sized box into his paws, indicating he should open it. Nozawa ignored Ron's cry of protest, as his grin grew when the fighting/steel-type's present was opened and the Pokémon's face flushed. Even so, the two of them smiled at it and to their trainer.

"Aromi... thanks," Kyashii said, smiling happily.

"Put them on and show everyone," Nozawa suggested.

The two, both blushing, turned to each other. Then, Lucario took his out of the box, and gently placed it around Kyashii's neck, before allowing his mate to do the same to him. Then, they revealed what their trainer had gotten them – two very special, nigh-on-impossible-to-damage charms that contained a _beautiful_ picture of the one they loved. Lucario had received the charm containing his picture, and a little "anonymous" note saying to give it to his target of affection, and the same went for Kyashii.

"Hey you two, there's one more thing," Nozawa winked, looking at the ceiling.

Everyone followed his gaze and some of the girls immediantly sighed. Sitting right above their heads was a mistletoe – and so there was also one above the heads of Sara and Rikku. All four Pokémon gave him varying kinds of looks, before the two couples gave their love a quick, affectionate kiss. Arceus, sitting by the one who invited him, was curious.

"How long ago did you plan that?" Arceus asked, whispering.

"I set up the mistletoe just a moment ago with a charm and the necklaces I bought weeks ago," Nozawa whispered back, before speaking louder. "There's more to those necklaces than meets the eye; they have a tracking charm. If you ever get lost, simply ask it to locate the one you're looking for – and it will point you to them."

The two that were currently wearing these charms smiled at this, nodding gratefully, as the blush persisted on their cheeks. After forgiving his professor for cutting ahead in line, Ron opened his own gift. Soon enough, the line went around to Arceus.

"You can go on, I didn't get anything," He said, shrugging at this. He was used to it at this point, so it didn't matter to him.

"Nuh-uh," Nozawa countered, pointing to a large box with the powerful Pokémon's name on it. "You've got one right here."

Arceus blinked, and when he saw the name on it, he failed to hide his surprise. Then, using his abilities, he opened it quickly, and was slightly confused at what he saw. It was a large clock, with many different pictures and hands on it. It certainly didn't look like a regular clock.

"What... what is it?" Arceus asked the trainer who'd invited him, surprised he'd gotten this item so quickly.

"What, you thought I went out during the night to get this?" Nozawa said. "I asked Algida some time ago what you'd be doing for the holidays and finding out you'd be alone... I couldn't let that happen. I couldn't leave you to go through Christmas alone; so I bought this ahead of time. I got the idea from Fred, when I asked how his mom seemed to always know where he was.

"This is a special clock, Arceus," The young man continued. "It shows you the whereabouts and status of each and every legendary Pokémon in existence. I asked Algida for help coming up with the hands and stuff, that's how I knew how many to have placed. Sure, some of the words were changed to be the names of the regions, but it still works the same."

Arceus was, for the first time in a long time, left speechless. This clock was huge. Several charms had shrunk it down and made it lighter, but surely the normal size was enormous to fit so many creatures on it. Before he knew it, the alpha had tears welling up in his eyes as he watched the hands hold steady and the moving pictures look about, giving extremely quiet versions of their roars.

"Nozawa... thank you," Arceus said quietly. This was one gift he would truly treasure for ages to come.

As the morning wore on, it soon proved to those who only barely knew the older trainer how well he knew his team. He had gotten for Algida a necklace with a charm of Palkia on it. Despite how much she verbally denied it, Aromi knew better; he could tell how much she cared for the spacial deity. For Sara and Rikku, he had gotten charms showing each other, and for Espeon, he'd gotten her a charm with an empty picture holder.

"Why's it empty?" Espeon asked, confused.

"As soon as you find the one you love and confess it to them, the picture will appear there," Aromi explained, making the psychic-type smile and thank him.

"Wow, professor," Hermione said, at last unable to hold back. "I had no idea you were so good at finding just the right gifts for people. At first I thought it was lame with how few you'd bought, but..."

"Well, it may look like it was easy, but it sure wasn't!" Aromi said with a chuckle. "Arceus was the toughest, because I don't know him very well at all. That's why his gift is from both me and Algida – I needed her help fixing it up. The rest were a bit easier because of how well I know these guys; when you know someone as well as I know them, it's not that hard to get them a gift that you know they'll treasure for a long time."

"Aromi..." Kyashii began, smiling softly. She was purring and blushing from how Lucario was sitting so close to her, but of course, he was blushing from this as well. "You've really outdone yourself this time... really."

Aromi shrugged, saying it was the least he could do for his family. It was then that Harry realized something – the older trainer had yet to open anything.

"Professor, you haven't opened a present yet," Harry commented. Aromi shrugged again, the rest of the people in the room just now realizing it as well, even though they had all opened their entire stacks.

"I don't mind," Aromi admitted. "I'm more interested in the reactions from what I give rather than what I get. I can't explain to any of you how important it is to me to see someone enjoy the gift they receive."

"We understand how you feel," Espeon said, stepping forward as she pushed a modestly size box towards her trainer. The faintest of blushes was on her cheeks. "That's why the team asked the Headmaster to help us get this."

Nozawa blinked. He carefully picked up the box and opened it, and gasped slightly at the inside. It was a charmed necklace. Pulling it out to look carefully he noticed how it had six different little Pokéballs hanging off the chain, all of which holding moving pictures of the team. Underneath the photos were words, in a manner similar to Arceus' clock.

"This way, if we ever get seperated by accident or something," Espeon explained. "You'll always be able to keep track of us. It's also got a charm so that if you need to find someone, you simply ask it to find them."

The young man was silent as he stared at the gift for a few moments. The psychic-type watched as he put it down, worried he didn't like it – but then she was surprised when she found herself in a powerful hug and a 'thank you' was whispered into her ear. After a couple of moments, the hug ended, and soon enough, after a couple more touching gifts from team to trainer – like a little photo of them all posing in front of the Hall of Fame, or a basket of Gracidea flowers – the group of people prepared for brunch, having, by popular vote, skipped breakfast in favor of opening presents. As Aromi was about to head into the dining room, Arceus stopped him.

"Aromi..." Arceus began, unsure of where to begin. "I... when you invited me, I was kind of surprised... I never thought you'd have thought far ahead enough to get me something... and..."

"Don't, Arceus," Aromi said with a smile. "Don't worry about it. I did it because you're a part of our family. Algida considers you family, which by extension, makes you my family as well. There's really no other reason."

Arceus nodded at this, kind of surprised at this. Then, after the human-suddenly-turned-friend had entered the dining hall, the alpha Pokémon smiled to himself.

_Who do I turn to when things are broken?_

_Where do I go when I'm feeling alone?_

_Who's always there with arms wide open, it's you._

_Yeah, it's you._

"Arceus, I need your help with something," Aromi suddenly said, watching Algida from upstairs. The other Pokémon on his team had gone into hiding, aside from Espeon whom was sleeping on his bed. The temporal deity was just chilling by the stairs.

"What?" Arceus asked, coming upstairs, where he'd been relaxing by the beautiful tree. When the trainer motioned for them both to be quiet, the legendary Pokémon became slightly confused – especially when he held out a small box. "What is that?"

"It's a present," Aromi explained. "From Algida to Palkia."

"Wha—are you crazy?" Arceus hissed. "Do you have any idea how much they hate each other?"

"Ha! 'Hate each other', my foot. The necklace Algida's now wearing? Got a picture of Palkia in it. You saw how much she blushed from that. You know as well as I do that beneath all that bullcrap, they love each other."

Arceus sighed quietly, nodding. He knew it all too well. It was the same between Kyogre and Groudon.

"Why are we talking about this?" Arceus asked. He blinked when Aromi held out a mistletoe on a string.

"I'm going to tie this to the stair railing above Algida's head," Aromi began, before quickly explaining his plan. Arceus grinned at this – not only was it the perfect revenge, it would be nigh-on-perfect to get the two of them together at last.

_Where do I hide when it's dark and stormy?_

_Where do I run to when it's all too much?_

_Who gives me hope when I wake each morning, it's you._

_Yeah, it's you._

_Huh...?_ Algida wondered silently, waking up as the air shifted in front of her. _Why is there a portal opening up right in... front... of... No. It can't be!_

It was. Palkia's portal had opened up right in front of her. He would be here in seconds – there was no time to hide the necklace! Her heart began to beat at a mile a second, as the spacial deity stepped out of the portal and closed the opening. When he spotted Algida, he scoffed.

"So you're the one that called me here?" He said, his voice monotone.

"Huh?" Algida said, tilting her head in confusion. She then felt something slide off her head and then slide off her foot where it had first landed. Looking down, they both spotted a little box with what looked to be her telekinesis-made writing.

"What...?" Palkia asked, confused as he picked it up gently. He opened it before Algida could stop him; her heart, if possible, began to beat even faster. It froze when the spacial deity's breath hitched and a small blush appeared. "D-Dialga...?"

He showed her what he'd gotten, and swiftly realizing the perpetrator, Algida snapped her head up to glare the target to death – but froze at what she saw instead. Trying to see what she was looking at, Palkia followed her gaze, and also froze in place. Directly above their heads was a mistletoe. They both quickly found their gazes locked to the floor, but knew that with that thing above them, they could either do as tradition demanded, or probably suffer the wrath of whoever put it there. In other words, Murphy's Law.

Algida, feeling as though her heart was beating faster than should've been legal, looked up and found Palkia soon doing the same. Before he could do anything, he found the temporal deity's blushing countenance only millimeters from his before being on the receiving end of one very nice kiss. They pulled apart shortly enough, having finally cut through the falsehood that was their hatred for each other. A quiet clapping got their attention, and they looked to see Aromi at the base of the stairs, both he and his partner-in-crime, Arceus, smiling. The death glares they received merely made them laugh as the two dispersed to hang out for the day.

"Well, uhh..." Algida began, turning back to Palkia. "Merry Christmas."

"...Merry Christmas," Palkia returned, smiling slightly, before placing the necklace around his neck.

"That necklace... it's charmed," Algida said. "My trainer made one for both of us... if we ever want to find each other, we just as for the necklace to point us in the right direction."

Palkia nodded, smiling at this, before gently leaning forward and kissing the target of his affection a lot more deeply than before. Once he pulled away, he heard words he never thought he'd hear.

"P-Palkia... c-can we, err... g-go someplace p-private...?" Algida asked nervously, afraid of rejection once again.

"I-If you want..."

Within moments, both of the legendary Pokémon had vanished into a portal, off to have spend some quality time together. Aromi was sitting by Espeon, smiling as she purred from being petted the way she was. Aromi told her what he and his partner-in-crime had done.

"Hmm, and how long ago did you plan _that_?" Espeon asked, curious.

"I got Arceus to help me set it up only a few minutes ago," Aromi shrugged.

"Nice," Espeon complimented.

Aromi grinned and before Espeon could move, she suffered a quick, five-second noogie.

"Ack!" Espeon exclaimed, pulling away. A glare that only got her an evil grin, and then she took a few moments to clean her messy fur. "Jerk."

"Brat," Aromi countered all too easily.

In an instant, however, Espeon forgave her trainer – because at that moment, he'd begun petting her. Purring happily, she came over and quickly curled up in his lap.

"Quick to forgive, I see," Aromi chuckled.

"Yeah, well, you really know how to pull my strings," Espeon explained.

Then she blushed, realizing the secondary meaning in those words. Thankfully, her trainer didn't say a word. She silently cursed to herself, realizing how perfect this moment was. Shutting her eyes tightly, she tried to force up the courage to say it.

"A-Aromi... there's..." She began to say, looking to the floor, hoping to find some courage there.

"I know," Aromi interrupted gently.

Espeon's head snapped up so fast, one would think her neck would snap. Oh if only she knew how long he'd known. Either way, however, they both failed to notice as the psychic-type's necklace finally filled in with a picture on its own.

_You were there for me in my darkest days,_

_You cared for me when I've lost my way._

_My guiding light, you always pull me through,_

_I believe in you._

_Yeah yeah._

Arceus was looking at the clock the trainer had given him. He watched as the pictures of Dialga and Palkia were still in that one spot labeled 'Home' and had been there for quite some time. Oh, how he would treasure this gift for many years to come. He looked over to the spot on the couch he was laying down by, and spotted a boy with messy black hair.

"Harry, right?" Arceus asked, getting a nod.

"Yeah," Harry said. "You're really liking that clock."

"Well..." Arceus began, looking at the device as one hand, Giratina's, shifted from Distortion World to Sinnoh. "Yeah. My family's always getting into trouble. I keep telling them to not look for it, but it always find them."

"Kinda like Harry," Absol cut in at that moment. Harry looked pseudo-insulted, and the dark-type smirked. "I swear, I should put a tracking collar on you."

"I'd put one on if you did the same," Harry said, smirking at Absol's affronted look.

Arceus chuckled. It reminded him of how his own family interacted. Out of nowhere, one evil grin came upon his countenace. The clock noted how Groudon's image had moved from 'Home' to 'Battle'.

"Harry, I need your help with something," Arceus said quickly.

"Huh?" Harry asked, surprised.

"You know those necklace charms Aromi bought? Can you get a couple?"

"Uhhh... how soon?"

"Like, really quickly."

Soon enough, Harry had retrieved Hermione, whom helped to create the necklaces using the charms and spells she knew so well. Then, with that evil grin still plastered on his face, he noticed as Rayquaza's image began to move from 'Home' to 'Battle' as well. Arceus told the two teens thanks, before he vanished in a portal – and returned very quickly.

"What'd you do?" Harry asked, confused. Arceus's grin widened, as he opted to open a little viewing window for them.

_When I stumble and fall, you take my hand._

_When I don't have a clue, you know what to do._

_When nothing makes sense, you help me to understand._

_It's true._

They watched as Rayquaza, with his own dark smirk, appeared at the battle raging between Groudon and Kyogre, and with an immense roar, got them to stop. Then, he spoke.

"You know, Kyogre," Rayquaza said, handing Groudon a small box. "If you really wanted to get this out, you could've just said something instead of asking Arceus to ask me to deliver this."

Kyogre's face was, at first, that of confusion – before realization crossed her face and it changed to that of horror. Her expression confused Groudon, before he gingerly opened the box, and was surprised by what he found inside. Before he said anything, however, the sky deity cut in.

"Of course, Groudon's just as bad," Rayquaza shrugged, handing Kyogre the other box.

Groudon's face showed his absolute horror as well. Of course, they looked at each other with shock and surprise upon finding what was inside the boxes. It went from 'bad' to 'worse' as Rayquaza spoke once more.

"Hey, how come you two are fighting _right here_?" Rayquaza asked, almost evilly.

Oh how that prank-loving legendary was loving this. The two confused Pokémon looked up, and froze at what was there. Right above their heads was a little outcropping from one of their attacks, and hanging down from it, was a _beautiful_ mistletoe.

_It seems like forever, it's been you and me._

_I know who we really are._

_Sometimes I wonder, where would I be without you._

Arceus was grinning quite a bit, as Harry, Hermione, and their Pokémon were struggling to hold back their laughter as the sent went on. The view closed moments later, and they all let out what they'd held in. The two teens complimented the legendary in front of them on his on-the-spot quick thinking. Aromi, with Espeon in his arms and purring _very_ happily, was confused as he came down the stairs.

"What happened?" He asked, curiosity overwhelming him. He and Espeon laughed at the answer. "So, Arceus... when are you heading back?"

"Probably tomorrow," The alpha Pokémon answered, smiling at how happily the little psychic-type was.

Aromi nodded at this. He was going back to Hogwarts tomorrow, as well; he had some things to prepare for the second half of the school year. If only they all knew what kind of chaos would be going on during that time...

* * *

**Credits: **Quote is courtesy of me. Song lyrics from "I Believe In You", closing credits song from "Zoroark: Master of Illusions".

**A/N: **I really am grateful that you all have kept up with this story, but I'm even more grateful when you review, so please do so! ^_^


	17. Chapter 17

**A/N:** I hope you all don't mind me saying, but I'm on a roll here! :D Also, major time-skipping in this chapter. Beware.

* * *

_**Chapter Seventeen**_

_What's Right is What's Left If You Do Everything Else Wrong._

Ever since that time when Harry's mind had been accidentally invaded by Voldemort's and he'd witnessed the attack on Mr. Weasley, he'd been doing everything he could to try to do as Snape said and block his mind. He just didn't understand _how_! All that bloody git of a professor said was "prepare yourself" and "empty your mind", but how in the world was he supposed to do that?

"Harry?" A voice asked, catching him off-guard and making him snap back to attention. Riolu was looking at him with slight concern. "Are you alright?"

"...Not really," Harry admitted with a sigh to his partner. "I... I just... it's these Occlumency lessons... I don't get it."

"Why don't you do what Professor Nozawa suggested and tell the Headmaster?" Pidgey asked from her trainer's shoulder, her number one favorite perch. "He said he and Espeon could help you."

Harry paused to think about this, before he stood from his seat on his bed. Pidgey squawked slightly before scowling at almost losing her balance and at how the rest of the team chuckled. The Boy-Who-Lived walked downstairs, and found Hermione and Ron studying away the Saturday. The last weekend had been another Capture Weekend.

Ron had gotten a Vulpix during that time, Hermione a Buizel, and Harry a female Nidoran. Malfoy had gotten himself a Houndour. Somehow, both of the Weasley twins had managed to get a Pokémon that enjoyed pranks – Fred a Gastly and George a Misdreavus. The ghost-type Pokémon were thoroughly enjoying helping their new trainers set up pranks and such. Ginny had captured a Silcoon that was soon to evolve, it seems. Neville had added a Paras to his team, having begun with a Ralts. Luna, having started with a Drifloon, had been able to catch a Hoothoot.

"Morning, Harry," Hermione said. Buizel was asleep on the couch in front of the fireplace; the heat was apparently pleasant enough to do so.

"Harry, mate, help me out here," Ron pleaded – but then he noticed the focused look in his friend's eyes. "Harry?"

"I'm going to go talk to the headmaster," Harry said as he reached the last step. The group gathered in the common room – namely, the golden trio and their Pokémon partners – looked at him. "The Occlumency isn't working. Professor Nozawa said that he and Espeon could help if it didn't, so I'm going to see what they've got in mind."

The other two of the group nodded, and with Pidgey the only one going with him – his other Pokémon opted to stay behind – he was soon directed by Dumbledore to visit the young professor. Upon arrival at the classroom, he found that the older trainer was absent. Confused, Harry and Pidgey began to look about, attempting to find the elusive young professor. Soon enough, the flying Pokémon found the team training at the Quidditch field.

Harry and Pidgey were quickly impressed by how Nozawa's team trained so intensely – including the trainer. He was sparring a losing battle with Lucario, the Pokémon doing nothing but trading physical blows with his trainer. However, upon spotting his student, the young man paused in his sparring. Lucario understood, and after dragging Espeon away from her own training – she was practicing her psychic abilities by stopping some tennis balls being shot at her by a magically enhanced machine – they visited the young student.

"Hello, Mr. Potter," Nozawa said, once he caught his breath. "What brings you out here?"

"Well, Professor..." Harry began. "My lessons with Snape haven't been... going well."

"I hear it's a difficult thing to master," The professor nodded understandingly. "Don't worry, Espeon can help you to learn how to protect your mind."

"It's quite simple, really," Espeon began. "Occlumency probably works on the same principle, but psychic-types do it naturally, so it's automatic for me. For you, Harry... hmm... find something to focus on in your head."

"To focus on?" Harry asked, eyebrows knitting together in confusion. The little Pokémon nodded.

"Just pick some sort of memory or something you like that's going through your head, and focus on absolutely nothing else," Espeon explained gently. Harry once again realized that she was using that motherly tone, almost automatically.

Harry went through his mind, and noticed that the first thing that came to him, was related to where he was sitting – the Quidditch field. So he grabbed that memory of catching his first Snitch – and damn near choking on it – and held fast.

"Got it?" Espeon asked, and once she got a nod, she continued. "This is kinda similar to how the Patronus Charm works. I've heard Occlumency requires one to empty their minds, but this method is different. Anyway, you know how the Patronus Charm acts like a shield between you and a dementor?"

Harry nodded, beginning to understand where this was going.

"So I use what I'm focusing on to make some sort of wall around my mind?" Harry guessed, and was happy when Espeon smiled and nodded.

"That's exactly right," She said. "Now do what you did before again."

The scarred boy immediantly found that memory again.

"This is how it works for my trainer, so it's how I'll explain it to you," She said. "Think of little mental workers turning that memory into an energy or something. Then let them use that to build this great big wall around the inside of your head. Now, you're in charge of this little construction project; make sure there are absolutely no flaws. If you need to draw on another memory or something, do it."

Harry had to change how he thought of building the wall. Eyes closed, he saw his friends using their skills at magic to help spread his memory out around his mind, protecting it from any outside influences.

"Nod if you've got it."

There was a slow nod. Pidgey was watching from the bench, curious as to how her trainer was doing.

"I'm going to check your barrier," Espeon explained gently. "If I find any holes, I'll help you fill them in. Don't worry, it won't hurt, and I won't look at anything you don't want me to see."

Within seconds, Harry could feel a slight pressure pushing at every tiny spot of his inner wall. Forcing up his focus, he tried to make sure there were no flaws in his mental protection... but the professional psychic found a spot in a place he'd overlooked. Thankfully, she withdrew quickly. Even so, she gently left a little marker in his head where the problem had been.

"Not bad on your first try," She complimented, smiling – not that her pupil could see, his eyes still closed as he concentrated. Espeon giggled at this. "You can open your eyes now."

Harry slowly opened them, and smiled in return to his new teacher's own.

"Alright, so..." Espeon began, gathering her own thoughts. "You noticed the spot I 'marked', right?"

A nod.

"Your wall was complete. It covered your entire mind. The problem was that the spot I found was weak enough for me to slip through. However, you noticed, so that's not a bad thing."

"But I thought the point was to keep someone completely out?" Harry asked, confused.

"That's true," Espeon said, nodding. "But sometimes someone's going to be able to slip through no matter how strong your barriers are. In those cases, simply knowing that you aren't alone in there is good enough. So even _if_ Voldemort learns of your connection and he begins to take advantage, if you at least _know_ that he's in there when he shouldn't be, that is huge."

Harry nodded, before sighing. A sudden wave of exhaustion had washed over him out of nowhere. Espeon laughed politely.

"Mental defense is just as exhausting as physical defense," She said, grinning. "I'm glad you're as trained as you are; in order to train the mind, you have to train the body first. All the training time you've had with your Pokémon has helped."

The Boy-Who-Lived smiled at this. He liked his new mental defense teacher. She continued to help him throughout the morning, all the way until lunch time. Unlike Snape, Espeon was a lot more patient; she understood well how to teach someone who had no clue how to protect their mind. Once it was lunch time, they all stopped, and started to head back up to the castle. On the way, it was learned when the next DA meeting was, and the young professor nodded at this.

"Thanks, professor," Harry said to both Espeon and Nozawa. They smiled and grinned, respectively.

"I remember her teaching me the same thing," Nozawa admitted, as they approached the Great Hall for some well-deserved food.

"She taught you?" Harry asked, surprised at this, as was Pidgey.

"Yup," Espeon nodded.

"It's my style of training, as you kinda saw," The man said calmly. "I always try involve myself in the training. It helps me get an idea of how to help my team get stronger, and it keeps me in shape."

Harry nodded, understanding what the man meant at that, as he joined his friends at their table.

_I jumped through all the shades of gray,_

_No rainbows where my winds blow._

"So how's the new mind lessons?" Ron asked once Harry sat down.

"Espeon is an amazing teacher," Harry said. "A lot better than Snape. She says that I need to practice some more, but since Hermione has Natu, she said he could help."

"Me?" Natu squeaked, surprised. He knew how powerful Espeon was in comparison to him. "I'm not that good!"

"I think that's the point, Natu," Hermione said. "Think about it. If Harry's practicing to protect his mind, if you help him every now and then by checking on how well he's doing, you'll get better too."

Natu and Harry looked at each other. They both nodded at this, Hermione's reasoning quite sound.

_My hands still hold the rights to blame,_

_The high road I still crawl down._

"You going to the meeting today?" Algida asked her trainer, as he continued to work on paperwork.

Nozawa sighed heavily at the reminder. He had so much work to do... he'd given the assignment for every one of his students to remake their training regimes to include their new team members, and he needed to check them all off. Several weeks had passed since the last one, and spring time was arriving in full force.

"I can't," He admitted after a while. He bit his lip lightly. "I can't send a message with an owl to let them know; Umbridge might intercept it."

"Can't you do what the Order does, and send a Patronus message?" Espeon asked.

"No, my Patronus is too obvious," Aromi said, shaking his head. "I mean, it's totally awesome, but I haven't be able to figure out how to do it without making it corpreal."

There was a bit of a silence for a while, then he looked up to Kyashii and Espeon.

"Why don't you two go instead?" Aromi told them. "I have to stay and finish with these papers. You two can go and possibly help Harry and the others. I get the sneaking suspicion that Umbridge isn't far from catching them."

Espeon and Kyashii nodded, before leaving the room and quickly finding their way to the Room of Requirement. The rest of the team went back to helping their trainer get through the homework assignments. With the fact that so many people had caught so many Pokémon, the training regimes were getting quite extensive, and took that much longer to read.

"Heh," Aromi suddenly chuckled, catching everyone's attention. He began to explain. "Fred's idea of training is having his team help him set up his pranks."

The team chuckled a bit, before Lucario asked how that worked.

"Apparently, by having Gastly practice her abilities as a ghost and traveling through walls to either place or steal items," Nozawa explained, a smile on his countenance. "And to practice her Hypnosis on anybody that catches her in the act. Minun continues to train his Helping Hand, using it to boost the strength of said Hypnosis or any of Gastly's other necessary moves."

This got a good laugh out of them all. Of course, they laughed even more when Lucario found that George's regime was teamed up with his twin's and did almost the exact same thing. The two brothers had even set it up so that they could have the ghosts practice their pranking against each other. The laughter died down pretty quickly, as the group continued to go through the papers, until Nozawa's head snapped up sharply. Without a single word to the team, he grabbed his wand, threw on his shoes, and raced out of the room, forgetting everything. They all glanced at each other before following.

_Oh... what's the price you pay,_

_For all the ones you try_

_To save._

"Dumbledore, you have crossed the line," Fudge said, as he slowly paced throughout the room. "First claiming that He-Who-Must-Not-Be-Named had returned, then setting up this little army of yours... and then letting in this ridiculous... _things_... into your castle?"

Kyashii growled quite menacingly, but she didn't move; the group of Slytherins that Umbridge had recruited were holding wands to them all, and it unnerved and angered her that she _couldn't do a thing about it_.

"_Expelliarmus!_" Exclaimed a most familiar voice from behind the door.

In an instant, those holding wands to Kyashii and Espeon lost them to the other side of the room. Just as they flew through the air, the door opened and Nozawa tore through and quickly reached the two Pokémon of his team, completely ignoring everything else.

"Are you two alright?" He asked gently.

Kyashii and Espeon nodded, the latter having explain everything through telepathy already. With a nod, the young professor stood and seemed to finally notice how many wands were pointed at him – every single Slytherin student, along with Fudge and Umbridge. Aromi raised an eyebrow.

"It's almost funny how you all think that will stop us," He commented. "Espeon."

Espeon immediantly went to work. She snatched every single wand in the room with her psychic powers, before putting them all in a pile at the bottom of the stairs that led up to Dumbledore's room, far out of reach. The rest of the team was down there, keeping an eye on them and on anybody that got too curious for what was going on.

"Thank you," Nozawa commented, getting a nod in thanks.

"How dare you!" Umbridge screeched. "You are not needed here! Get out! This is a matter between the headmaster, these fools, and the Minister!"

"Shut up," Came the nigh-on-automatic response. "Your whinny little voice is really getting on my nerves."

"Aromi, my friend," Dumbledore began. "Why is it you are here?"

"Well..." Nozawa began, walking forward to where the DA sign-up sheet was, on the Headmaster's desk. "If you look right here, you'll see why."

Right there, at the very bottom of the list, was the young professor's name.

"So you're involved in Dumbledore's efforts to overthrow me as well?" Fudge began, his paranoia more than blatingly obvious. "To think the dotering old fool brought you all the way from a foreign land just to build up his army."

"Wait, sir," Harry interrupted. "The Professor didn't make it, I did."

"I think not, Harry," Dumbledore said, holding up the list. "The parchment clearly states 'Dumbledore's Army', not 'Potter's Army'."

"And that is why you are to be under arrest," Fudge continued. "Aurors. Get your wands."

With that, several wands flew up into the room, caught by the men around the Minister, as well as his own and Umbridge's. Nozawa was surprised, then realized that they were skilled enough to cast wandless magic. However, Dumbledore also had his out.

"I think not," Dumbledore began to say, standing slowly and putting his wand away in his robes. "If you need help to make your decisions on what next to do, there is a letter upon my desk."

The group of people in the room seemed confused – but Nozawa seemed to nod in understanding.

"Stay safe, Headmaster," he bid to the old man.

"And still, nothing gets by you," Dumbledore chuckled. "Farewell."

With that, Dumbledore's hand shot straight up, Fawkes grabbed it, and they both disappeared in a flash of brilliant light. A couple of minutes of silence passed, before Fudge spoke.

"Well, then," Fudge said. "I suppose that for the safety and better of the school, I shall appoint Professor Umbridge as replacement Headmistress."

"I think not," Aromi said harshly, as he picked up the letter from the desk. "She is unfit for such a position. Besides, you heard the Headmaster; he left instructions in this letter."

"Young man, I am the Minister of Magic," Fudge said quite harshly. "I make the decisions."

"Yeah, really bad ones," The young professor said, rolling his eyes. "You suck at your job. Honestly, cowering in fear from an old man? Pathetic."

"How dare you insult the Minister!" Umbridge screeched, turning to the Aurors. "Aurors, take care of this fiend!"

"I wouldn't do that if I were you," Espeon said harshly, eyes glowing warningly. "Hurt our trainer..."

"...And you have _no_ idea what kind of _hell_ will rain down on you," Kyashii finished coldly. The Aurors paused at the way the two gave their threats with such confidence.

"Why don't we all just take a deep breath, and let's open this letter and read it?" Aromi suggested calmly. With that, he opened the parchment, and began to read outloud. "Hmm... 'I realize that my time at Hogwarts, for now, has come to an end. In my stead, I require someone that I trust to take my position as Headmaster for the greater good of this magnificent school. In my place, I request for'..."

Aormi froze upon the name that was written in the letter. It didn't make any sense at all. Harry, freed from being held by Malfoy, stepped forward and gently took the letter.

"It says..." Harry began, looking to the young professor with a slight awe. "That the only one he trusts enough with this position right now, is you, Professor."

Normally, Professor McGonnagal would have done it; however, an... incident some weeks ago had left her in need of remaining in St. Mungo's to recuperate. Thus the reason for Dumbledore to appoint someone else – and in this case, it was Nozawa.

_C'mon,_ Espeon told her trainer gently. _You can do it. You've taught these kids all year; you've dealt with us for eight years. You can do this._

"This is an outrage!" Fudge exclaimed, having snatched the letter forcefully and read it. "I will not stand by and allow a foreigner that knows nothing of our laws to take control of this school!"

"Well... that's too bad," Nozawa said, before taking a deep breath. This was quite the shocker. "Sometimes, Fudge, things happen that even the head politician can't do anything about. So suck it up and deal with it, because remember, this letter was made _before_ the Headmaster left – which therefore means his statement still holds power."

Fudge was furious at this; he motioned to the Aurors to stun the young man all the way to St. Mungo's. What happened next he didn't expect. The men that were his Aurors were suddenly either completely unconscious, or had been hit by one _very_ powerful Thunderbolt attack and knocked to the floor, twitching madly and unable to get up from the intense pain. Espeon and Kyashii looked absolutely furious. There was a momentary silence.

"They warned you," Nozawa said unforgivingly. Another deep breath, before he spoke again. "Now take your Aurors, and get out. And take Umbridge with you."

"You... you can't do this!" Umbridge exclaimed.

"Shut up," Aromi hissed, his voice cold, freezing almost everyone in the room. "If the Headmaster wishes me to replace him, if only for the time being, then so be it – and I _will not_ tolerate a _child abuser_ in these walls. _Get. Out._"

"And do it before _we _make you," Kyashii warned, her fur crackling readily with electricity.

Both Umbridge and Fudge were outraged; their wands snapped up, ready to go – but they soon vanished as they were both hit by two very quickly fired Disarming Charms and then taken away by a couple of Summoning Charms.

"Leave," Nozawa began threateningly. "And I'll snap your wands."

"Er... Professor?" Ron said slowly. "Don't you mean 'or I'll snap your wands'?"

"Depends on how quickly they listen."

As the two watched, the young professor held Umbridge's wand above his knee, slowly bending it, clearly ready to snap it in two. With that, the two, with faces flush red from anger, fled the scene. Without a moment of hesitation, Aromi proceeded to snap both wands.

"What the – I thought you said _maybe_!" Harry exclaimed.

"Don't tell me your complaining, Mr. Potter," Nozawa said. "Think about it; she's caused a lot of trouble for this place, and only because she thought that having a wand and being an adult gave her the right to do so. By removing the wand factor, she becomes weak and powerless, and the same is said for the Minister – and without either of them being hurt."

Harry had to pause at this. The explanation made sense. It was a lot better to simply remove one's ability to use a wand, if only until they get a replacement, than to physically harm them. With that, everyone except the DA members were dismissed, and Nozawa's team came up to meet him. By the time the students and their Pokémon went to bed, many things had been decided.

First, it was decided that all teachers capable of teaching would continue to do so. Second, someone needed to fill the spot of Defense Against the Dark Arts, while someone else substituted for McGonnagal in her absence. Nozawa's team would be teaching the Care of Strange Creatures class in his stead, since they knew the lesson plan already. Finally, it was soon found that many things would be changing for the rest of the year with this sudden change of control.

* * *

**Credits: **Quote spoken by Robin Williams. Song lyrics from "Light of the Day/Dark of the Night" by the amazing Shaun Barrowes.

**A/N:** Well, at least Umbridge is gone. That's a good thing, right? Oh, wait... she's supposed to become afraid of centaurs, right? Hmm. I suppose I could somehow fit that in. :D Anyway... review, review, review!


	18. Chapter 18

**A/N:** Well, here's the next chapter. I'm finally showing the cracks in Aromi's armor, and a huge one will be shown soon, don't you worry. Enjoy!

* * *

_**Chapter Eighteen**_

_It's a complete secret, so naturally, everybody knows._

It seemed that finally relieving Umbridge of her Hogwarts duties was the key to truly bringing the school back to life. However, Headmaster Dumbledore had yet to return, and it was unsure as to why... perhaps to ensure that people remained safe and the Ministry didn't complain. In the mean time however, with Professor McGonnagal still unable to return at the current point in time, the man placed in charge – done with no attempt to hide his immense surprise – wasn't afraid to admit something. Which is saying something in and of itself, considering so many people under the same pressure refused to do the same.

"...I don't know what to do," He told his team quietly, head in his hands, as he was back in his original room. He just... felt so clueless and overwhelmed.

The elder trainer completely missed it, but his entire team shared a glance among each other. How often was it that the eighteen-year-old – usually so incredibly sure of himself that he had the guts to treat _Arceus himself_ as an equal and as family rather than just be in awe – was clueless? Now, he wasn't crying about it, but he was just... unsure. And to be completely honest, he had no idea why in the nine hells Dumbledore had pushed these responsibilities onto him. Nozawa was at a loss of what to do. And the entire team knew it. Espeon gently connected them all for some private telepathic talking, and soon, one of them spoke.

"Aromi," Rikku said, catching the man's attention, the startingly clear distraught expression quite unsettling. "Don't forget, we're here to help."

"And you've got an entire Order as well," Sara reminded her trainer gently. "Can't they help you?"

Nozawa thought to himself for several moments. McGonnagal was out of the question; probably because of his constant berating of her and how she had probably given up on removing him, Umbridge had gone after Hagrid instead... and after the half-giant had failed to be felled by even six Aurors there with permission from the 'High Inquisitor', the Transfiguration teacher had been last seen by Astronomy students stalking out of the castle, raising one hell of storm. In response, she had been knocked cold by four Stunners to the chest, and after a couple of nights in the Hospital Wing, moved to St. Mungo's. The elder trainer thought that Umbridge probably would have waited had he not been there, but... either way, there were so many spots to fill, and he didn't know how.

"But... there are so many spots to fill..." Aromi said. The gears in his head just weren't clicking. "And the only here who's interested in Umbridge's spot is Snape, but he's the Potions... master..."

Out of absolutely nowhere, Aromi stopped talking, his eyes moving only slightly, as if in a trance. The team shared a smirk – this was the young man they knew so well. One could practically hear the gears in his mind started to whir once more, whining happily as they did so. Suddenly, the young man stood, and the team waited for his words, then listened to his plan and ideas.

_It's a new day, but it all feels old,_

_It's a good life, that's what I'm told_

_But everything, it all just feels the same._

"Harry, why is Lucario waiting outside the Common Room asking for you?" Ginny asked as she came in, having returned from the showers to help herself relax from that stressful time up in Dumbledore's office from earlier.

Harry frowned slightly at this, sharing a confused look with Riolu, as Pidgey and Absol looked at each other. He shrugged to Ginny after a couple of moments of thought, before heading to the portrait hole to, indeed, see the Professor's Lucario waiting there. The Pokémon sighed.

"I thought I asked for _both_ Mr. Potter and Ms. Granger," Lucario said, smirking as Ginny blushed at her mistake.

She had been so confused at the request to retrieve Harry that she forgot the second part, but all was forgiven as the bushy-haired girl came out as well, Cyndaquil coming and Absol catching up after a short discussion of which member of Harry's team would go. Soon enough, however, silence reigned as they travelled the distance to the professor's classroom. Confusion reigned supreme on their emotions at what was happening.

"Umm... Professor, why did you need to see us?" Hermione asked, confusion more than evident. Not that she tried to hide it.

"So glad you asked!" Nozawa said, smiling, as he leaned against one of the classroom's desks, inviting them to sit down, which they gladly did. "Alright, so I'm sure you recall the incident in the Headmaster's office."

Of course they did, and just as they had suspected, at this point, so did everybody else. What had happened in there was supposed to be a complete secret. As a result, the entire school knew. Of course, it was just the natural way of things.

"And that creates a big hole in the number of faculty present," Nozawa said with a heavy sigh. The students just gave a nod at this. "However, with the help of my team, we've figured out how to fix this."

The two looked at him questioningly.

"You two are going to be doing the teaching."

One can imagine the stunned looks from the students and the Pokémon. Sara, also in the room, wished she had a camera to take a picture of it... not that she would have been able to actually hold it, but still.

"B-B-But... s-students can't be teachers!" Hermione protested after a while.

"Alright, fine, teachers by proxy," Nozawa said, grinning as he rolled his eyes. "You're quite the brilliant witch, Hermione, and I _know_ how well you do with Transfiguration."

Hermione blushed at the praise, while Cyndaquil looked proud of his trainer, because he completely agreed.

"And as everyone in the entire school knows," Aromi said, turning to Harry. "Harry is one of the best, if not _the_ best, person to go to when it comes to Defense Against the Dark Arts."

Harry rubbed his head sheepishly at the compliments, as Absol smiled.

"Therefore, you two will be helping me and my team do the teaching," Aromi said. "And yes, you may rope some of your friends into helping you come up with plans of what to do... actually, that's not all that accurate. Professor McGonnagal's Pokémon is still here, because she told her to help out with teaching when necessary."

"Her Pokémon?" Harry and Hermione asked at exactly the same time.

"She's a Delcatty," Nozawa answered. "And even though the students haven't seen her, Delcatty is still quite knowledgable of the subject. However, she does not have the same amount of skill as her trainer, nor is she capable of wielding a wand. You, Ms. Granger, are in charge of helping her master what to teach which class. Lucario will be in those classes the most often to make sure things are going well. You can do this on your own, but I'd recommend getting help."

Hermione nodded. This was a big burden to put on her.

"Mr. Potter," Nozawa said, catching the attention of the boy-who-lived. "You will be helping _me_ teach the other remaining class."

"But what about this one?" Harry blurted out, then shut his mouth at the interruption. When everyone else in the room laughed, he scowled slightly.

"My team will be taking over the duty of teaching this class," Aromi said with a smile. "Don't worry about it. I'll probably be drawing off of what you've taught at the DA, but I came late. If you could write up something that could help me figure out what to teach which class, that would be most appreciative."

There was a silence, before Ms. Granger looked at him, feeling clueless.

"But Professor... where do I start?" Hermione asked, clueless. She frowned at a piece of parchment that the professor showed her. "What's this?"

"When Professor McGonnagal had to be hospitilized, but left Delcatty behind, the Pokémon showed this to the Headmaster almost immediantly," Nozawa explained. "This is the curriculum that was planned to be followed. The problem with the class is, remember, Delcatty can't use a wand, and despite being with McGonnagal all year, she only has a limited knowledge of the subject. Your job, be it with friends or not, is to help Delcatty understand what it is she's teaching and how to teach it to the students."

Hermione nodded, realization dawning upon her. She had been worried she would have to teach the classes herself; the burden suddenly seemed a lot lighter. All she had to really do was, with help if needed, show McGonnagal's Pokémon the wand movements if necessary, perhaps help making some sort of moving display on a chalkboard for the classes. Basically, what Harry would help Nozawa do with the remaining class.

"What about when you run out of stuff for Defense Against the Dark Arts?" Harry asked, the possibility coming to him at that moment. The list of stuff he'd taught the DA was short, and wouldn't last long enough to reach the end of the year.

"Good question, and that's where you come in again," Nozawa said. "You can help me come up with ideas when I've run out of them, and considering the fact that it should be a few weeks from now and then, you don't have to worry about it – especially since I'll try my best to come up with things to teach. I'll probably also be turning to Lupin for ideas on what to teach and how to, so don't worry too much, alright?"

The plan was becoming clearer by the minute to the two students and their Pokémon. The young professor told them that Delcatty had a Quick Quotes Quill – which, thanks to the still-active translation spell, it understood all of the Pokémon – and that he would give them a few to use and to share. That way they could work on their homework – which he made sure they understood came first – and possibly come up with ideas, and if they didn't have any, the quills they shared with their friends meant that they could do some planning as well. This way, the burden of coming up with teaching plans were spread out quite well and wouldn't be so difficult to bear. The students soon returned to their common room, and explained the situation to their friends.

_And my high school, it felt more to me_

_Like a jail cell, a penitentiary_

_The time I spent there, it only made me see..._

Classes seemed to be going along smoothly for many days. Even Potions class seemed better... well, considering the teacher and the classmates, this impression lasted all of five seconds. As it turned out, Professor Nozawa had been correct; Hermione had been the person to go to for Transfiguration help, and Harry for DADA assistance. The members of the latter were very grateful for the change in teachers. Unfortunately, with Trelawney out of the question considering that the Ministry had approved the removal of her from the job, that had left another hole in the faculty... which, most gratefully, Dumbledore had already solved. Firenze, one of the many centaurs of the forest, had agreed to take the job, thankfully. In the mean time, in between Nozawa's class – now taught by, in turns, his team – and the students' subsequent training, the DADA class was quickly becoming popular as well. Everyone, having mastered the crap Umbridge had been shoving down their throats, was able to quite quickly master most of the simplier spells on some target dummies that Nozawa had set up.

"What're you going to be teaching the class today?" Kyashii asked her trainer.

Every now and then, one member of his team would be there to watch. It had been a full two weeks since the plan had been set in motion, and it was working perfectly so far. Her trainer's responsive sudden smirk made Kyashii ever the more curious. Even so, he refused to share his surprise for the class, no matter how many verbal prods he got. When he arrived at the class for first years, he quickly made his way to the front as he usually did, and soon enough, made it through the day to third years and above. He typically taught different level spells – as recommended by both Harry and Lupin – to different level classes, but it was third-years and above he was excited to teach today.

"Alright, class, I have a surprise for you for today," Nozawa told them once they had all set down their packs. Sure, the desks had been out for the first and second years, but they needed the space for everyone else. "And you are to promise that you won't tell _anyone_ else until everyone has been to this class. Am I clear?"

Not really wishing to face the young man's wrath, they agreed to it. They also agreed that, once they mastered the spell, they would help the first and second years of their houses learn the spell. The excitement from being taught it was quite strong, and when the fifth years finally came in, they soon learned why everyone exiting the room looked extremely happy, as Nozawa smirked upon seeing Mr. Potter in the classroom.

"Mr. Potter, please come forward," Nozawa said, calling the young man forth. The Pokémon in the class had been advised to step aside, so Riolu watched form the side as his trainer did as told, confusion evident. "Now, I heard from some of your friends you're capable of a spell not very many people your age are able to do."

Suddenly it became clear what it was Nozawa had been teaching the third years and above. He told them that since they had encountered Dementors, as school guards, two years ago, it was a good idea for them to learn to do it. So, in response to the question, Harry nodded understandingly.

"Professor?" A student asked, hand raised. She continued when he called upon her. "What spell are you talking about?"

"The Patronus charm," Nozawa said calmly. "As I'm sure you've all heard, Mr. Potter here is one of very few people in this school capable of casting it – today, since he's such a master at it, I think that he'll be able to help you all master it, because that's what we're learning."

Quickly, he made them swear to tell nobody else what was being taught here, before moving on to teaching them how to do it. Harry was told to remain up front to help, just in case. The boy-who-lived saw Malfoy's look of indignation, and smirked in response. Riolu, noticing said smirk, took a moment to figure out why – before he mirrored his trainer.

"Alright, first off," Nozawa began, before anything could happen. "Everyone close your eyes."

It took a few moments, but everyone did so, including Harry. Technically, he was still a student of the class, so he still had to do as the professor said.

"Now, the Patronus charm works through the use of a happy memory," The young professor explained, just as Mr. Potter had taught the DA once. "It acts as a shield between you and any Dementor that you may encounter, making it feed off of the Patronus instead of yourself. So I want you all to think of the most powerfully happy memory you can think of."

A pause as the students found said memory.

"Let it fill you up," Aromi instructed gently. "Just let it flow throughout you."

There was several moments of silence as everyone did so.

"Now, without wands, say the incantation with me. Expecto Patronum."

The entire class quietly said the words.

"Good, but not quite. Said it more confidently. Not louder, _confidently_."

The students said the incantation slightly louder, but definitely with a lot more confidence.

"Excellent," Nozawa said. "You may open your eyes now. Everyone spread out and take out your wands. Remember, there is no Dementor here, so it will be _easy_ to cast the spell. _If_ you ever run into one, it will not be so simple."

The class nodded in understanding. Harry was then requested to demonstrate how to do it, and the raven-haired man felt smug from the snarl on Malfoy's face. When the young raven-haired man successfully brought forth the stag once more, some of the students were in awe at the fact such a young wizard had mastered such a difficult spell. In fact, they were surprised to hear Harry had mastered it two years ago! Then again, such students were few and far between. Most of the class had already known... and Malfoy was the only one sneering slightly.

"Professor," Malfoy said, deceptively calm. "If you are teaching this, shouldn't you be able to cast the charm as well? Having a... student... demonstrate is all well and good, but shouldn't you be the one doing so?"

Nozawa was about to respond in his usually infuriating calm manner, before he paused to think. Then, surprisingly, he grinned.

"How right you are, Mr. Malfoy," He said, calmly preparing his wand. Once more, the memory of defeating Cynthia in an official battle at the Pokémon League leapt forth, almost on its own. "_Expecto Patronum_."

To say the class was shocked by his patronus would be an understatement. Even those that had seen it before were surprised, if only because they weren't quite used to it yet. Who would be considering what it was in the first place?

"Satisfied, Mr. Malfoy?" Aromi said, grin still there, as calm as ever. As he put his wand down, the dragon-shaped patronus that had settled vanished. "Alright, get to work, class. You have the period to practice."

The young man figured that practicing this charm could take a day or two, so it wouldn't hurt to have it as something to practice. The former DA members didn't even bother to fake their struggles. Ever since the group had been busted, it then became the biggest news of the school; everyone knew. So, they just continued to practice keeping their casting of the charm at its best, making sure they could still do a corpreal form. Harry assisted Aromi and Kyashii in helping the students. He even had the great fun of getting to help Malfoy, and at the same time, subtly taunting him the entire time, and enjoying it oh, so much. And from their connection, Riolu was struggling to not burst out laughing.

_That I don't ever wanna be like you_

_I don't wanna do the things you do_

Absol and Riolu and Pidgey and the female Nidoran looked at each other. It was happening again. Their trainer was tossing and turning, a nightmare heavily plaguing his mind. There was no knowing if Voldemort was causing it or what until Harry woke up, and each other Pokémon sincerely hoped that everything was alright with him...

* * *

**Credits:** Opening quote spoken by Albus Dumbledore. Song lyrics from "The Anthem" by Good Charlotte.

**A/N:** I'mma just ask you to review for now because of the cliffhanger ending... *runs to avoid reviewer angry mobs*


	19. Chapter 19

**A/N:** Another few days, another story posted, and then I get this chapter up. Another chink in the armor for ol'... er, sorry, _young_ Professor Aromi Nozawa. Just watch him work. :)

* * *

_**Chapter Nineteen**_

_You Have Trespassed Upon the Heart of My Friends._

"What should we do...?" Pidgey asked quietly, unsure as she watched their trainer toss and turn again.

There was an oppressive silence for a while, nobody in Harry's team sure of what they should do. At last, Riolu seemed to have an idea.

"I think that we should just wait and see if he's alright," Riolu said. "Stay close by."

The rest of the team nodded, going no farther from their trainer than the edges of the bed. As the young man continued to toss and turn, minutes and seconds seemed to crawl by. The four Pokémon could only hope that he would be alright... until, at last, he bolted upright, drenched in a cold sweat.

"Harry!" Riolu exclaimed, hugging him tightly the moment he woke up. "Are you alright?"

"Sirius..." Harry said, shaking his head. "Sirius is in trouble!"

The team exchanged looks. Another vision.

"What do you think we should do?" Pidgey asked her trainer, gently. Harry bit his lip slightly.

"We need to go save him," He said. "Voldemort has him captured, and they're torturing him for information."

"Let's go see Professor Nozawa," Absol said calmly. "He should be able to help us figure it out."

Harry nodded. In his eyes, they needed to go rescue his godfather – and soon. Very soon. So with that, and with his entire team following, they raced down to where the older trainer was staying. Upon arriving, the young man opened the door, and raised an eyebrow at the expression of panic on his student's face.

"What are you so panicked for, Mr. Potter?" Nozawa said, yawning slightly.

"It's Sirius," Harry said shortly. "He's been captured."

Aromi frowned at this news. A question popped into his mind.

"And how do you know this – in the dead of night, no less?" The professor's brain, though tired, was beginning to click and set the gears in motion.

"I saw it, professor!" Harry exclaimed. Most definitely _not_ panicking. "I saw Voldemort torturing him!"

The professor's frown deepened as he narrowed his eyes slightly. The rest of his team had been woken up by the knock as well, and were now just as awake as he was. After a moment of thinking, he came to a decision.

"Absol and Pidgey, would you fetch Mr. Weasley and Ms. Granger?" Nozawa said at last, nodding to his team to get ready. Things were going to get chaotic, he could feel it. "Tell them to meet us in the headmaster's office."

Harry, at first, was pleased he was being listened to... until they reached their destination, that is. The older trainer had everyone, except for Kyashii, in their Pokéballs and on his belt. Once in the office, with his friends there as well, he explained everything he'd seen in his mind, growing more and more anxious to go to the Ministry of Magic and save his godfather. No matter what he said, the professor wouldn't let him leave.

"Relax, Harry," Nozawa said at last, standing up and turning around to the fireplace nearby. "You may use this fireplace to contact Grimmauld Place, but you will _not_ leave this office. Am I clear?"

"But Professor –!" Harry exclaimed, concern overwhelming common sense.

"_No_, Mr. Potter," Aromi insisted, making it clear that there would be _no_ argument otherwise.

With a sigh, Harry made do with what he was allowed to do. Kneeling at the fireplace, he quickly learned from Kreacher that Sirius was gone and had yet to return, thus causing the boy to panic even further. Rolling his eyes, Aromi pushed the boy to sit down in one of the chairs in front of the desk.

"Enough, Mr. Potter," Aromi said seriously. "Either calm down, or I will force-feed you a Calming Drought. Do I make myself clear?"

Finally being threatened with a forced calmness, Harry took as many deep breaths as necessary to relax as much as he dared. Common sense was finally returned, as well, if only a smidgen.

"Now answer a few questions of mine, if you will," The professor said.

"Why should I, professor?" Harry snapped.

"Humor me. Did you set up your mental barriers before you went to sleep?"

Harry was about to snap another response, before he paused. He suddenly realized that, no, he hadn't. As the adrenaline continued to wear off, his logical center continued to regain control.

"Then tell me... how do you know that what you saw was real?"

Harry bit his lip. He had to admit it – he didn't know. Not for certain. But it was so _similar_ to the real version, he couldn't tell if it was or not.

"Professor, I still need to check, just to be sure," Harry said sternly.

Not rudely, just with such conviction that Nozawa got the feeling that dissuading the young man would be difficult, if not impossible. As such, the professor sighed and rubbed his temples for a minute.

"Fine," Nozawa finally conceeded. "I will let you go, on several conditions."

Harry nodded, paying attention.

"If, for _any_ reason, it even _remotely_ seems like it would be a trap," Nozawa said. "You are to _run away_."

"What!" Harry exclaimed at this. "But that's cowardly!"

"No, it's not," The young man said, shaking his head. "It takes a brave man to go into danger; it takes an even braver man to know when to back down. Cowards are the ones who do the easy thing, because it will be the most likely way to survive."

"He's right, Harry," Hermione cut in.

"Thank you, Ms. Granger," Nozawa said, before continuing. "Anyway, other conditions. You must return your team to their Pokéballs and take them with you. Even if you told them to stay, I'm sure they'd find a way to follow you anyway, so might as well just bring them with you."

Harry looked to Riolu, whom was nodding at this. Sighing, the boy-who-lived agreed to this one.

"Third, take some friends from DA with you. I'm sure they'd just force you to take them as well."

Hermione and Ron nodded at this as well.

"Finally... I'll meet you there."

Imagine the confusion on the students' faces.

"What, you think I'd let my students walk into danger like idiots?"

The trio blushed at this, considering the fact that they, even Hermione, sometimes acted kinda stupid. So with that, the golden trio were dismissed to get ready for an adventure.

_This is the clock upon the wall,_

_This is the story of us all._

_This is the first sound of a newborn child,_

_Before he starts to crawl._

By the time Harry and his friends had gathered and were ready, a team consisting of everyone with Pokémon in their Pokéballs, they had left through the use of the invisible creatures that only Harry and Luna seemed capable of seeing – Thestrals. After quite a ride, they landed before the phone booth that Harry had used to get into the Ministry the past summer for his hearing. Very quickly, they were admitted into the hidden place, where they soon found their way through to the place known as the Department of Mysteries. Upon entry, the room spun round and round, the doors looking identical to the one they'd used to get in. After quite a bit of trial and error, the group found themselves in a place holding thousands upon thousands of little crystal balls.

"Where are we?" Ron asked, looking about, wand at the ready just like everyone else.

"This is where I saw Sirius being tortured..." Harry said quietly, cautiously walking ahead.

"What are they?" Neville asked, just as prepared.

"Harry," Luna called from ahead. "This one's got your name on it."

Frowning, the scarred boy walked over to where his friend was, his team of six following closely. Noticing that, indeed, that orb had his name on it, but as he reached for it, something seemed off.

"Harry, wait," Hermione said sharply, making her friend freeze in his tracks. He recognized that warning tone, and his gut said to listen to it. "Before you take it, let's set up some barriers."

Harry paused to think, before nodding. It would be a good idea to do that. So for the next few minutes, the group of them set to work carefully setting up either barriers that would render them invisible, traps that would slow people other than them down, or just generally alert them to someone else's presence. Then he picked it up, and in an instant, those alarms went off.

"Don't move," Harry whispered sharply to his friends, as several dark pillars appeared and zoomed down to floor level, where people appeared. "Death Eaters."

There were various nods as said enemies appeared. The Boy-Who-Lived swore quite colorfully in his mind as he realized how much of a trap this was. The few people that had appeared approached, dispelling the protective enchantments almost too easily.

"Now, then, Potter," Said a cold, far-too-familiar voice. The voice of one Lucius Malfoy. "Hand over the prophecy if you know what's good for you."

"When I say so, run," Harry whispered to his friends. They all nodded ever so slightly.

"Oh," Began a female, clearly-insane voice as another person slowly trotted up to them. "Wittle itty bitty Potter twinks he can outwun us."

Then, in a whirlwind of motion and emotions, lots of things happened. First, Neville, recognizing the new person as Bellatrix Lestrange, had gone after her to avenge his parents. The ones she had driven to insanity with the Cruciatus Curse. Second... well, things were just insane at the moment. As they ran from the room of crystal balls, something else happened.

"What the –!" Harry exclaimed, as an umbrella was thrown just barely above his head, as he and friends ducked instinctively.

"_Engorgio!_" Called a familiar voice. The already large umbrella grew in size by a factor of about three.

It stopped several curses and hexes from reaching the students, as Hermione recognized the perpetrator.

"Professor!" She exclaimed, watching as he nodded to them only slightly before turning and signaling for them to follow him out.

"There's a spot the Order is meeting us, keep up," He said shortly. Then he stopped and turned. "Go. I'll be there in a moment."

As he said this, the umbrella was quickly being destroyed, but it had bought them all the seconds necessary to give them time to escape. Shoving his arm into his side bag, expanded and enlightened to fit all of the random junk he'd grabbed that he thought could have a use with magic at their back. Such as a quill with the pen pointed at the target.

"_Engorgio!_" Nozawa cast the same spell, causing the sharp feather to grow exponentially.

Someone on the other side of the umbrella, as holes appeared in it, grunted from being stabbed by a big, flying quill. In that moment, the professor followed his students out. From there, he found his way to where they had ended up – a great, big room. Full of stones and what seemed to be an arch filled with some odd film-like stuff.

"Riolu, help me out!" He could hear as he approached. Seems like the Pokémon were getting involved now, as spells were also being cast.

"Everyone!" Nozawa ordered, letting out his entire team, except for one. He would save her power for later, when needed. "Jump right into the fight, guys, and don't get too badly hurt."

With that, the group of them dived into the fight, and in an instant, the trainer found himself doing a one-on-one with a Death Eater. He'd played upon his pride in an instant, telling him that only a coward would resort to Unforgivables. In response, the fighter had gotten frustrated and fallen exactly for Aromi's trap. By continuously playing on the man's pride, not once did he cast any of the Unforgivable Curses.

"Im—" Began the Death Eater, before stopping and shaking his head, grinding his teeth. "_Stupify!_"

"_Protego!_" Nozawa countered, keeping his mind connected to Espeon as best he could. "_Incarcerous!_"

Chains immediantly appeared and tied the Death Eater up. Just as Nozawa was about to incapacitate the man, his eyes widened and he turned suddenly to Espeon. There, he saw as Sirius, Harry, and Espeon had been fighting Bellatrix Lestrange. There, the witch had cast the torture spell upon the Pokémon... and as a result, even though the creature took all the pain, the memories that sprung up to the forefront of her mind were shared. With the entire team. Something happened to Aromi's emotional armor in that moment. He turned to his original opponent, nothing less than pure rage upon his face.

"I don't have time to waste dealing with a _weakling_ like you," He hissed harshly. "_Stupify._"

The Death Eater was unconscious in an instant, but Nozawa was gone before that, and intercepting Bellatrix's second cast of Crucio on Espeon, her cackling stopping as he did so.

"_Protego Maxima!_" He exclaimed, stopping the attack in its tracks, before ending his dash in front of Espeon and the other two, protectively. "Oh, I hope you understand what _hell_ you've just brought upon yourself... _you son of a bitch!_"

Bellatrix cackled with a wicked smile on her countenance.

"Oh, does the mudblood professor think he can take me?" She taunted. Nozawa's smirk was dark enough to make her falter for a second.

"Oh, I don't think that," He said, releasing his final Pokémon. "I _know_ so. Kyashii, take care of Espeon... that spell caused _those_ memories to come up. Harry, Sirius, everyone else, go kick some butt... I'm gonna beat this _fiend_ to something resembling a bloody pulp."

Bellatrix cackled again, as her fellow Death Eater nearby was taken over by Sirius and Algida. It took Lucario to drag Harry to another fight, or away to watch.

"What do you think you can do to _me_, mudblood?" She cackled.

"Show _you_ what happens when you do something like that," Nozawa hissed. Lucario recognized this rage as one that gave his trainer an aura resembling that like hellfire. "You, Bellatrix Lestrange, have trespassed upon the heart of my friends and family. I suggest you prepare yourself."

"How are you gonna get revenge, wittle professor?" Bellatrix mocked, only slightly intimidated. She was just that insane. "You don't even know that many spells."

"Oh, no, I don't," He admitted. "But the ones I _do_ know, I can cast faster than you can keep up."

"Then let's see you do it!"

As the conversation was going on, there was a short pause as Kyashii told her trainer to avenge Espeon for making her relive those painful memories – and Nozawa swore he would. A few seconds passed as even some of the other fights, with experienced Order and Death Eaters, were interested in how much damage this young man could do.

"Avada –" Bellatrix began, planning to kill the man instantly.

"_Reducto!_" Nozawa interrupted, aiming directly at the woman's feet. The rock there was blown apart just in time for her to trip up and cancel the incantation. As she was falling, he was casting another spell. "_Expelliarmus! Incarcerous! Silencio!_"

In the span of two seconds, three different spells were cast, successfully. First, Bellatrix's wand went flying straight up into the air. Second, chains shot out and tightened up and bound her arms to her sides tightly. Finally, her vocal chords stopped working.

"You don't have time to be impressed, _bitch_," Nozawa hissed harshly. He pointed his wand at the one still falling through the air. "_Accio!_"

In the moment that Bellatrix's released wand was summoned, the man put his own in his back pocket and, without pause once he caught the summoned one, he snapped said wand over his knee.

"_Inhuman_ people like _you_ don't deserve the _privileged_ use of a wand," He told her as he tossed the pieces aside and grabbed his own again. "Let me show you how a _real_ fight goes. _Carpe Retractum!_"

A powerful, golden band shot out and wrapped around Bellatrix's waist, before being tugged upon and causing her to be pulled straight towards him, pulled up from where she'd crashed into the ground. His knee was waiting for her arrival, thereby running right in to her stomach.

"Look out!" Lucario called from behind, safely stopping another Death Eater from hitting the young trainer.

"Thanks," Nozawa replied before getting back to work.

As the older trainer continued to pummel Bellatrix, well and truly showing those that even though his rage had given him a sort of tunnel vision – which very nearly got him killed – crossing his path was a poor idea. When she finally was left on the ground, a bloody nose and several bruises on her, he stopped with the physical beating. During that time, three times had his friends had to save his back from being stabbed. The silence spell had long since worn off.

"What're you gonna do, mudblood?" Bellatrix taunted, voice weak as she lay there, the chains having been reinforced several times. "Are you gonna kill me?"

Nozawa remained silent for a moment, before smirking darkly.

"Hell no, that'd be too good for you," Nozawa said harshly. "I've got one better."

"Then let's see it, mudblood!"

"Fine, then... _Obliviate._"

With a twist of the wrist and a glowing wand, rather than take his revenge by killing the damn Death Eater, he instead completely and utterly eradicated her mind of all the memories she ever had. With the help of his team and the rest of the Order, the Death Eaters soon retreated, taking Bellatrix with them. Soon enough, the students and the professor were taken back to Hogwarts while the Order went to Grimmauld place, hoping to reconvene and plan for other things.

During the battle, Dumbledore had appeared just as Voldemort had, shortly followed by the Aurors and the Minister finding out the truth of the situation at last. After quite a bit of talking in Dumbledore's office, the students returned to their beds, only to find that the next day was Saturday and that there were no classes. Thankfully, of course. The first thing the golden trio – and a couple of others – did was visit Professor Nozawa. Upon arrival to his class, they found him inside his office/bedroom, keeping a close eye on Espeon. Said psychic-type was whimpering slightly as he petted her gently, quietly. The entire team was there as well, quietly supporting her as well. Lucario gently alerted his trainer to whom was there, and Nozawa sighed and nodded, coming out. He didn't bother closing the door yet.

"What's up, guys?" Aromi said to them, recognizing the trio along with the twins and Neville.

"We... we were wondering..." Neville began. His parents having been tortured in the same way by the same person, he was truly worried.

"If Espeon was alright?" Aromi asked gently. The group nodded.

Aromi looked over his shoulder and watched Espeon for a moment, thinking. Deciding.

"Kyashii, would you take care of her?" He asked the Luxray gently, whom nodded and quickly slid right up next to Espeon.

The little Pokémon curled up against the bigger one, whimpering and crying into the blue-and-black fur of the Luxray. Nozawa sighed as he turned to the students, Lucario slipping out. He smirked to the other one who rubbed their head sheepishly. Harry's Riolu had, in the midst of the fighting the day before, evolved.

"Alright, you may as well take some seats," Aromi said, starting slowly and gently. "This story may take a while to get through."

The students looked at each other, before grabbing some chairs and sitting, Pokémon as well. They listened intently as the professor began to explain...

* * *

**Credits:** The song lyrics are from "Pictures of You" by "The Last Goodnight." The quote is from "Yu-Gi-Oh", spoken by Yami Yugi. I thought it fit here, as you saw. :D

**A/N:** Well, the emotional part is coming for the next chapter. I wonder if you can wonder what kind of hells I'm going to show that Espeon went through in Nozawa's early Pokémon Trainer career. I want to see how many of you will cry as a result (or at least tear up :D). Anyway, review on this chapter, please! ^-^


	20. Chapter 20

**A/N:** This is the chapter where I attempt to break your hearts with Espeon's past. To be honest, it very nearly broke mine just writing it. That's your one and only warning.

* * *

_**Chapter Twenty**_

_Live for Today, Because Tomorrow May Never Come._

Nozawa sighed again as he took a seat on his desk. He cast a glance towards the door behind him one more time before biting his lip and turning forward again. The young man took a moment to gather his thoughts, to see how he should put this.

"Professor," Hermione began quietly. "Do you want to use a pensieve?"

"...Perhaps another time," Nozawa replied quietly. "I haven't told very many people about what happened. Harry... have you noticed how Espeon always seems to take a motherly tone with you?"

The others glanced at their friend, whom blinked and nodded, looking confused.

"This should help to clear that up," Nozawa began. "So, when I first met Espeon, she was still just an Eevee..."

"_Mommy!" Cried a happy, young girl whom ran forward as she embraced her mother, a Glaceon with an amazingly beautiful coat. "Daddy!"_

_The father, a Flareon with an impressively smooth coat of fur, chuckled as his mate was knocked onto her backside by his daughter's tackle-hug. Glaceon rolled her eyes before quickly dominating her daughter and pinning her to the ground. In an instant, the little girl was squirming and attempting to escape the grip. After a while, she gave up, especially as her father came over and began to clean her fur. The double-team cleaning was normal for this couple, as they'd done it to their children many times._

"_Aww, daaaad," She whined, in between the licks. After a while, she was released, and noticing her completely fixed fur, sighed. "I spent an hour messing that up!"_

"_Well now you can spend two hours ruining it," Glaceon grinned. "Tommorow, of course. Go get your siblings and we'll have supper."_

"_Okay, mom," Eevee said, grinning as she ran off to where her brothers had last been. Soon enough, she returned, and several berries were ready to be eaten. "Yay!"_

_After giving thanks, the family quickly ate their share of food. Glaceon and Flareon helped keep their young children happy with some fun, before making everyone go to bed. Eevee was curled up close to her mother quite happily, her siblings by her father; her eyes snapped open when two unfamiliar hands wrapped around her middle._

"_Heh, got one!" Sneered an unfamiliar, frightening voice. "Let's go, the report called for one Eevee, and we've got one. Better yet, a little bitch!"_

"_Alright, score!" Hissed another one._

"_No... mom! DAD!" Eevee cried, hoping to be heard. Her parents and siblings woke instantly, but they only caught sight of the young Pokémon being taken out of the meadow. Glaceon followed immediantly, Flareon going into overprotective mode for the other two children. By the time the poor mother caught up, with the scent, the two men were gone, and with them... her daughter. Her one and only daughter._

"That... that was Espeon...?" Ginny gasped slightly.

"In her early ages," Nozawa nodded. He smiled slightly. "First time we met her."

"_Mommy... daddy..." A small Pokémon in the back of a truck, chained to the floor to prevent escape as the vehicle went over many bumps and stuff. "Aren't you coming...?"_

_Meanwhile, things weren't so bad for others._

"_Kyashii!" Nozawa exclaimed, laughing as he watched her prank Rikku and end up being soaked by his Water Gun. "You earned that, brat!"_

"_Lux luxio!" Kyashii said, looking at her trainer innocently, shaking her head as she did so._

_After the team finished their lunch, Nozawa returned everyone except for her, her fur finally dry. As they were walking alongside the road, they spotted a truck coming up to them, going quite fast. It was as it passed, the back covered by a cloth, that Kyashii froze, eyes going wide. She immediantly turned and ran after it, fur crackling with electricity already. Aromi had no idea what why, but he had long since learned to trust his team; she wouldn't be doing this to be rude. There had to have been a good reason. He watched as she carefully zapped the engine block with her immense control of her element, stopping the vehicle quickly. Upon catching up, she leapt into the back of the truck and tore away the cover, revealing so many cages that Nozawa frowned heavily, gritting his teeth as the two guys in the front appeared._

"_Whatdya think you're doing, runt!" The driver yelled._

"_Shut up, punk," Aromi growled, letting out Pidgeot. "Sara, these jerks thought it would be fun to poach some Pokémon... Whirlwind them away, will you?"_

_The bird Pokémon took only a glance at the loaded truck. Then, understanding Kyashii's anger, she launched into the air and fired her most powerful Gust attack._

"_Wing Attack to knock 'em out!"_

_Pidgeot's powerful wings glowed white for a moment, before shots fired forth in the form of said attack, knocking both men out for good._

"_Good work," Nozawa complimented her. "Now, town is just down the road about five minutes by flight. I need you to go there, get Officer Jenny, and bring her back here."_

_Pidgeot nodded as Nozawa tied up the men, before going to the back, where he found that the cages were thankfully empty. Most of them, anyway. There was one with a small little brown and cream-colored Pokémon._

"_An Eevee?" Nozawa said, Kyashii nodded absently. She had been trying to calm the poor child._

"_Ahh! A human!" Eevee cried, scooting as far back from the trainer as possible._

"_No, no, no," Kyashii said gently. "He's my trainer. Don't worry, I trust him."_

"_But... he's..."_

"_I promise," Nozawa said, slowly reaching his hand out. "I swear that I'd rather hurt myself instead of you. I promise."_

_Eevee, eyes full of fear, looked at him from top to bottom._

"_Besides, I have the key to your cage and that chain," He said. "If I wasn't here to help you, I wouldn't be offering to unlock them."_

_The little normal-type couldn't help but see the point in that statement. She allowed him – barely – to set her free. However, just as she took a step outside of the cage, she collapsed. They'd been travelling for two days and nights, with few breaks for the humans... but neither food nor water for the Pokémon. At that moment, the police showed up. The last thing Eevee remembered was being taken care of by the Luxio she was quickly growing to like, as said Pokémon's trainer explained everything._

"So you rescued her? That's why she trusts you so much?" Fred asked, he and his brother in their no-joking mood in light of the story.

"That's right," Aromi nodded. "It kinda got better for her for a while afterwards."

"_Look! She's waking up!" Exclaimed a voice quietly, as the little creature's eyes started to flutter open._

"_W...Where...?" She said tiredly, her voice croaking slightly from lack of use over the past day or so._

"_Easy, easy, girl," Said the trainer's familiar voice from before. "You've been unconscious for a couple of days."_

"_You're in what's called a Pokémon Center," Kyashii explained, having rarely left the younger girl's side, preferring to be there for her if she woke up. "Humans bring Pokémon here for them to be taken care of. Don't worry, you're alright."_

_Eevee looked at Kyashii, whom was by her side, first. Then she took a look around before trying to sit up, but fell back down to lack of strength. In a moment, the trainer from before was there._

"_Take it easy," He said gently, sitting down to be in sight, a gentle look in his eyes and in his smile. "I promised you, didn't I? That I'd get you taken care of?"_

_Eevee had to work to think back, but then she was able to get a small smile on her countenance. She nodded slightly. After all, the trainer had, indeed, promised to help her – and indeed, he had done so._

"_Thanks," She whispered quietly._

"_No problem. Just relax for another day, alright? Then we'll go out and find your parents."_

_Eevee blinked at this. She hadn't said anything about parents, and from what she could tell, humans couldn't understand her. Nozawa rolled his eyes._

"_Please," he said, grinning. "You're far too young to have been found by luck by those poachers. You must've been stolen from your family. We'll find them with you. I promise."_

_She couldn't help the smile that appeared as a result of this statement. He'd kept his other promise; surely he'd keep this one as well. Eevee closed her eyes, and went back to sleep for several hours, neither Kyashii, Nozawa, nor anyone else on his team going far from her. After she was finally released, it quickly became apparent how much the trainer cared about Pokémon._

"_What is this stuff?" Eevee asked Kyashii, frowning at the bowl of food in front of her. Kyashii grinned, her meal already gone. They'd been eating off of berries at first, to get the little normal-type back into the eating habit, slowly and gently._

"_It's food," Kyashii said. Several days had passed as they'd travelled, and the Luxio had quickly become something along the lines of Eevee's second mother, in place of the one she'd been stolen from only a few short days ago. "Try it before you judge it, okay?"_

"_Well... alright..."_

_Before Eevee knew it, she had eaten every last bite. Kyashii giggled at this, making the young Pokémon blush heavily. The next day, the Eevee was soon found to be leading the way, praying that her family was still there._

"Were they?" Harry asked, hoping that they had been.

"I'm getting there," Nozawa said, rolling his eyes at the boy's interruption. Said boy blushed as the professor continued.

"_Ah!" Eevee exclaimed, as they came upon a meadow near the one she'd been kidnapped from. There, laying nearby... "Mom! Dad!"_

_The Flareon and Glaceon looked up, as did the two male Eevee nearby. They all gained a great, big grin as their family member had arrived. In an instant, she was being smothered by hugs and kisses and promises to never let something like that happen again. Of course, Flareon made them all step back, especially his daughter, when he spotted Nozawa. Hackles raised and growling as he prepared a Flamethrower, he was giving this human ten seconds to leave._

"_Dad, wait!" Eevee exclaimed, coming forward, making her father feel confused – but he didn't stop charging his attack, ready to do so at a moment's notice. "Wait, Dad, stop. Please."_

"_Sweetheart, isn't he the one that took you from us?" Glaceon asked, also very cautious and very ready to attack._

_Aromi smiled, and ever so slowly, sat down. Then, just as slowly, he removed the Pokéballs from his belt, his bag, and every item in his pockets, and put them aside, out of reach. Kyashii lay down beside him, at his instruction._

"_See?" He said gently. "We mean no harm. Besides, if we were the ones who'd taken your daughter, do you really think we'd have gone through the trouble to bring her back?"_

_Glaceon and Flareon exchanged looks at this. The human had a good point. They looked to their daughter for confirmation._

"_He's right, Dad," She explained, nodding gently. "I trust him. He helped me when I was hurt by those other humans. He and the Luxio, Kyashii, helped bring me back to you."_

_Flareon looked his daughter in the eyes; there, he would see if she was telling the truth. After several moments, he nodded and relaxed his body ever so slightly. He gave the human a warning growl._

"_Father," Eevee said again. "Would you allow them to stay the night? Please? It is almost time for bed."_

_The parents of the family looked at each other, then the sky, the human, then at each other again. Glaceon smiled slightly._

"_If you trust him enough for that, then he is allowed to stay for only this one night," She said._

_Kyashii turned to her trainer, and relayed this. After a moment, Aromi nodded and thanked them for their hospitality, grateful the team had already had their dinner. Soon enough, the entire meadow was asleep, the trainer sleeping on top of his bag with Kyashii nearby. Eevee had curled up next to her in the end, her family close by._

"Is that all that happened? Everything was fine then, right?" Neville asked, sincerely hoping for that to be the end. Nozawa shook his head slowly, sadly.

"No," He said. "It got far worse."

_Kyashii slowly opened her eyes, blinking as to why the weight of Eevee leaning against her was suddenly gone. Looking about, adrenaline shot through her Luxio body. The little girl was gone._

"_No!" She cried, waking the entire camp. Aromi was the first to realize what was wrong._

"_Dammit, no!" He growled. "Someone got her again! Kyashii, can you get her scent?"_

_The Luxio had already done so, and after grabbing the Pokéballs holding the rest of his team, both he and Kyashii dashed off in the right direction. Flareon convinced his mate and sons to hide in the human's little sleeping bag, before following the human. When they caught up, they found the little Eevee having been, well..._

"_You son of a bitch!" Nozawa hissed harshly, his face not unlike what Bellatrix had seen._

_Eevee had been kidnapped, and in the few minutes between realizing that and finding her, been raped by an Arbok. The snake Pokémon gave a dark smirk as he began to slither away, feeling satisfied enough to leave._

"_I don't think so, jackass!" Nozawa exclaimed. "Kyashii, help Flareon take care of his daughter. Pidgeot, Aerial Ace!"_

_Within moments of being released, the bird Pokémon launched the attack on the poison-type, whom hissed from the pain. Pidgeot was immediantly attacked by Poison Sting, but thankfully left unpoisoned. Only a couple more blows were traded before the snake was left unconscious._

"_That should teach you to not do something like that again," Aromi hissed. Ignoring the creature at last, he returned his attention to the young Eevee, whom was crying and very clearly hurt. "Damn, she's poisoned."_

_Nozawa bit his lip slightly as he thought of what to do next._

"You're kidding," Hermione gasped slightly. "She... she was... after all that... she was..."

Nozawa nodded sadly, murmuring quietly that things only went downhill from there.

_After having successfully saved Eevee from the poison, thanks to a Pecha Berry in his bag, Aromi was able to convince the family to come with him to where he'd been heading anyway – Sandgem Town. There, they would be able to seek shelter at Professor Rowan's lab, Kyashii and Pidgeot helping to convince them. They would also see if the professor could do a check-up on their hurt daughter. Upon arrival at the lab, the first thing that happened was a check-up for the Eevee._

"_Are you sure all these... things... will help?" Flareon asked Kyashii skeptically._

"_I have full trust in their ability," The Luxio said, nodding._

_A full hour had passed, the group of them waiting impatiently. Then, Rowan, having called Nurse Joy to come over for help, announced something shocking._

"_She is preparing for a child," He announced as slowly and gently as possible. _

_Flareon and Glaceon stared. That was just... no, not their little girl..._

The girls listening in weren't ashamed to let a few tears slip through their eyes. Even the boys were having a tough time holding back. Nozawa knew very well that it was just going to get worse before it got better.

_Several days passed, Aromi staying with the family for an entire time. Eevee had quickly adjusted, and within that time, things changed for her. It was on the day she was expected to give the egg that something very bad happened._

"_Nngh!" She grunted, falling over in pain immediantly. Blackness was creeping over her vision, her parents and siblings and the trainer they had learned to really like and trust appearing as she blacked out. Aromi bit his lip._

"_We need to get her to the Pokémon Center," He said, before gently picking her up. "Rowan's equipment isn't enough. Kyashii, go to the professor, alert him of where we're going. Flareon, Glaceon, follow me."_

_There were nods all around as they sprang into action. The young man, at the moment fifteen, raced out of the yard, with all five of Eevee's family right behind her. Within minutes, Rowan and Kyashii caught up as they entered the Center. The line of trainers were insignificant, as Aromi almost rudely pushed past them all to reach the counter._

"_Young man, you must wait just like everyone else!" Nurse Joy scolded, before spotting the Eevee in his arms._

"_It can't wait!" Aromi said. "This is an emergency, Nurse Joy."_

_The nurse took only one look at the Eevee before nodding, agreeing about the urgency of the situation. A stretcher was called in, the line of trainers were told they would have to wait, before the nurse and Chansey vanished for immediate surgery. A cesarean birth was the only thing that would help right now._

"A... what's that?" Ron asked, confused. "We studied surgery in Muggle Studies, but..."

"A cesarean means that the baby is birthed by surgery," Nozawa explained carefully. "They use surgery to bring the baby out safely, rather than through the usual means."

_At first, the other trainers were quite peeved at being cut in line, before Aromi snapped at their snide and rude comments._

"_Shut the hell up!" He hissed, silencing them all. "That Eevee isn't even on my team! She's gone through some damn tough times recently, and she certainly doesn't need this kind of crap from any of you!"_

_He turned on his heel and stormed over to where he could watch the surgery. Kyashii stayed only long enough to explain to the Pokémon that were out the basics of the situation, whom then passed on the news to their trainers. As a result, the ones that were previously grumbling quickly forgave Aromi, and instead began to give their prayers and hopes that things would turn out alright._

"Well? Did they turn out alright?" Ginny asked, almost begging. There was a silence in the classroom before Nozawa shook his head.

"No," He said. "It didn't."

_Eevee slowly but surely was regaining consciousness, and finally, she was able to see her family, the trainer, Kyashii, and the rest of his team inside the largest room at the Center._

"_Mom... Dad..." She said slowly, smiling happily as they hugged her. Then she looked around. "Where's the egg?"_

_Silence reigned for a while, before Nozawa came forward, and looked her in the eye. Tears were brimming there._

"_No..." Eevee gasped, tears quickly forming. "It... no..."_

"_I'm sorry..." Aromi said softly, gently bringing her in for a tight hug._

"The egg... never survived...?" Harry gasped out.

"No, it didn't," He said gently. Even now he was fighting to not cry. "Not only did the egg not make it and she had to go through surgery to find out... it very nearly left her barren."

"Barren?" Ron asked, again confused. "What's that mean?"

"It means, Ron," Aromi answered quietly. "That not only would that egg _not_ have been her first... it would have been her last."

Silence reigned for a while, before Aromi continued his story.

_There was a full day of silence, to honor the memory of a child who never got the chance to see the world. The egg may not have been a planned one, nor had Eevee really wanted it to have been conceived... but she had been more than willing to raise it with the help of her family and newly trusted friends. Nurse Joy had her stay in the room for a week. At the end of it, Nozawa, even though he was just as sad as the others, had pushed it aside – and replaced it with a smile. When he came in to Eevee's room grinning, she finally snapped._

"_Why..." She began, growling, her family watching with interest, unsure of how else to react. "Why are you SMILING? You JERK! It's not something to be HAPPY about! Dammit, the least you could do is be SAD for a while longer!"_

_Eevee continued to rant for a full three minutes, before she finally collapsed in a heap, crying heavy tears and weeping for all she had. There was a minute of silence._

"_You're right, I should still be sad," Aromi said gently, slowly, catching her attention long enough to make her look him in the eyes. "And I am."_

"_Then why are you still smiling?" She demanded. Having been around her long enough, he was able to understand her well enough to answer her questions and demands._

"_Because I remembered something when a dear family member of mine passed several years ago," He began to explain, making sure to get down on eye-level with the crying Eevee. "He told me this before he went on: 'The best thing we can do for the dead, is to do their share of living with a smile'. Perhaps you should do the same."_

_With that, he walked out of the room, aiming to go for a walk on his own to straighten out his thoughts some more. When he returned, Eevee looked up at him... and smiled, even if it was small._

"_You're right, Aromi..." She said softly. "He wouldn't want me to mope forever... the best way to remember him is to smile. And I'll keep on smiling as long as I can."_

_Aromi smiled in return, gently hugging her, because she clearly needed it. The next day, she was released from the room, and after talking with her family, she had come to a decision. Eevee turned to Nozawa, whom looked confused._

"_I want to be on your team," She said shortly, smiling. "Take me with you."_

_Aromi stared for a minute. After getting confirmation from her of her decision – he asked if she was sure about it so much she finally snapped and demanded he get on with it. Smiling slightly, he held out the Pokéball, and she went right in without a fight. After it was confirmed, he turned to the family of Pokémon._

"_Don't worry, I'll send her back every now and then so she can visit," He promised them. They nodded, fully entrusting him with their daughter's health and well-being._

_The next day, Nozawa's team set out, the empty slot having been filled by Eevee. Within a month, she had evolved into an Espeon, and was quickly growing stronger... and more importantly, in honor of her child's memory, happier._

There was an oppressive silence for several moments, before it was broken by the professor standing and quietly opening the door. Inside, on the bed, Espeon was still softly crying into Kyashii's fur. Without pause, the man went over to the poor creature, picke dher up, and held her close. Several minutes passed, the students, nor any of the Pokémon, daring to move. After a while, silence reigned, the crying having finally ceased.

"She's cried herself to sleep," Nozawa said softly. He looked to his students. "You may as well head back to your dorms. It's getting late."

The students nodded somewhat numbly, still a bit overwhelmed by the story they'd just heard. As they left the room, they promised to not tell anyone. Aromi hadn't made them swear such a thing, they had simply decided it would be the right thing to do. Even the twins refused to say anything about it. The story had explained to Harry why Espeon had sometimes been so motherly to him – he was a child who'd lost his parents, she was a parent who'd lost her child, so she almost instinctively treated him as her own – and honestly, it only made him sad. It brought to light for him that he wasn't the only one in the universe that had gone through extremely difficult times...

* * *

**Credits:** No song to give credit to. Quote is a slightly modified version of one spoken by B.J. Hunnicut during one M*A*S*H episode.

**A/N:** I sincerely hope that this chapter has at least softened your heart. Please review.


	21. Chapter 21

**A/N:** Sorry it's been so long, but I had trouble wording this chapter. Enjoy, please!

* * *

_**Chapter Twenty-One**_

_A Penny Saved Is... Not much_

A couple of days have passed since Nozawa had explained Espeon's background to the golden trio and their band of friends. The classes had gone on anyway, with O.W.L.s having been completed before the incident at the Department of Mysteries. The group that had gone there were very grateful at the fact that there had been no loss of life. Some evolutions had occurred, however, both during the fight, and long afterwards. They included Harry's Riolu, Hermione's Cyndaquil, and Ginny's Silcoon.

They had gone on a few other capture weekends, and some students had expanded to the full six-member teams during those many weeks. Not many others had, but that was alright. It was the final exam with Nozawa's class that had them all worried – he refused to say a word. He was currently busy with being glad that Espeon had come out of her down-in-the-dumps funk and was doing much, much better.

"Professor!" Harry called upon noticing Nozawa and Espeon walking the halls and talking animatedly. Both paused and watched the Boy-Who-Lived and his partner, Lucario, catch up to them. "Uh... I meant Espeon."

"I guess you've uprgraded in status, professor," Nozawa grinned.

"I suppose I have, professor," Espeon smirked. Harry, quite used to their antics, rolled his eyes. "Aromi told you my past."

It wasn't a question, but rather a statement. Harry decided to simply nod.

"Don't worry," Espeon said. "It can hurt sometimes, but Aromi's advice is a huge help."

"Well..." Harry said after he nodded his understand.

"Wondering what we were doing?" Aromi guessed, receiving a couple nods. "Just wandering the halls of Hogwarts. She's magnificent, and she knows it."

Harry looked around at the beautiful hall, and nodded as they continued to walk on. Then it sank in both his and Lucario's heads what had just been said.

"Wait, are you saying Hogwarts is _alive_?" Harry exclaimed, making Nozawa and his partner laugh.

"It's entertaining that so few people know about that, and it's listed what I believe is Ms. Granger's most quoted book."

"You mean _Hogwarts, A History_?"

"That's the one. It mentions that Rowena Ravenclaw is the one who came up with the ingenious idea of moving staircases – but it also mentions the fact that in order to do so, the school had to have some sort of sentience, and it does. The way it changes staircases is kind of like how one's mind changes. It's an amazing place."

Harry just now noticed that they had walked onto a staircase and had stopped.

"Hogwarts, we're here to just wander about and explore," Nozawa said aloud. "Just take us wherever you please."

The students that heard their professor gave him strange looks, but that was before the staircase seemed to move almost happily, as if it was glad to have someone who actually understood its sentience. Then they stared as both Espeon and Nozawa walked on smugly, more than happy to simply explore. Harry and Lucario shared a look before following. Okay, so this place was more than simply being a giant castle where you learned magic – it had feelings, too. Weird.

"So where exactly is, uhh... Hogwarts taking you?" Harry asked after a while. He was in a hallway he, if he was frank, had never actually been in.

"Not sure," Nozawa admitted with a shrug. "But I'm hoping the library. I love visiting libraries, but with all of my responsibilities, I haven't had the chance this year."

After turning a grand total of two corners, they found said place. Nozawa had an amused look, Espeon looked like she was ready to read as many books as she could with what few days were left, while Harry and Lucario were sharing 'holy crap, this place really is kind of alive' looks. The latter two decided to move on to tell this discovery to their friends, while the other two decided to go in and have a quick read. They didn't return to the Great Hall, where Dumbledore could once again be found as Headmaster, until dinner. In the meantime, the group of Harry's friends were still kind of getting over the 'Hogwarts is kinda sentient' thing.

_Time_

_I won't ever give in_

_No matter how hard you pull me in_

"Professor Nozawa?" Ginny asked, raising her hand one day in class. They were having an in-classroom study day. She continued when he nodded to her. "What is the final exam going to be in this class?"

"Don't worry about that, Ms. Weasley," Nozawa assured his student. "I would tell you all, but not only would that ruin the surprise – but it's a part of the exam for you to be prepared for _anything_. That is another major thing about being a Pokémon Trainer – you must be prepared for absolutely anything. Hence the reason I am not saying what the final exam is, just that it will start sooner than others. Like, tomorrow. You will receive the assignment by arriving here on time. That is all I will say for now."

The class nodded and returned to its near-silent mode, several students going out to the pitch in order to train under the watchful eye of Kyashii and Rikku. The entirety of Nozawa's students were anxious to get the exam over with, and soon. Hence the reason they were nervous upon seeing that they were going to be meeting at the pitch over the next week. There was the written exam that they all finished quite quickly. Then there was the practical exam that they were nervous about.

"For your practical exam, you will all be required to take this here course," Nozawa gestured to a large area of the pitch that suddenly had various things like a wall to climb, things to crawl under... where they came from was a mystery. "This is to test your connection with your team. Yes, you _and_ your entire team must complete the course as fast as you can. There are parts where only magic can help, and parts where only a Pokémon's strength will work. It's going to test your ability to trust each other and work as a team."

Harry and his team, along with his friends, had been through the trouble at the Department of Mysteries – they trusted each other quite a bit. Malfoy and his cronies? Not so much. The golden trio, along with their friends, passed the practical exam _easily_. There was a rock that had to be lifted but it had to be done at a range, meaning the levitation charm. There'd been a smooth wall of rock that had an easy slope on the other side – but to get there the team would have to help the trainer get to the top first, as it was supposed to be. Then the trainer would return the team and call out the right one during the fast-reflexes section. Needless to say, those who had been in the DA passed easily. Malfoy and his friends... let's just say that it's a miracle they passed at all. It was the final section of the test that had the class worried.

"Everyone, this is the final portion of your exam," Nozawa began to say. "Put away your wands, and once you've done that, you'll probably want to take off your robes – this is going to need more movement than you can afford with those on."

The students looked at each other. Their teams had been healed by their professor's seemingly endless supply of Full Restores, something they'd learned about some time ago. The students eventually put their robes under a cover that the professor provided, wands in the pockets of said clothing.

"Everyone spread out."

The class took up pretty much the entire pitch, as the teacher and the Lucario of his team stood in the center.

"Now everyone bring out a single Pokémon," Aromi paused as he watched everyone doing so. A Quick-Quotes Quill wrote down who had which one out.

Harry chose his own Lucario, his friend Ron went with Butterfree, and Hermione decided upon Quilava. There were a few other choices, but the golden trio were the only ones to have been able to take advantage of the past six or seven capture weekends and actually have a full team. The class was about ready to begin battling, as they assumed, when the professor did something else.

"You all will be doing what I'm about to do," Nozawa began. "The rest of my team are in the stands, and they are going to help keep an eye on you – but before we get started, a few rules. First, no actual attacks. Hence the reason I had you all put away your wands. Second, failure to give it your all will result in your failure. This is a test of how much you trust each other – because if you trust each other enough to not hold back, then it proves that you're willing to go that far for them. Finally, once you've finished – my team will tell you when you are – you are to go and rest in the stands."

"But, Professor," Hermione began with a frown. "What _are_ we doing?"

Nozawa smirked to her, and after saying for them all to start shortly after he has, he turned to Lucario. The students suddenly noticed that the fighting-type had walked a short distance away from his trainer, and seemed prepared to fight. They were only further shocked when that was exactly what the young man and his Pokémon started to do – they began to spar. The Pokémon didn't use a single of his actual attacks, but he was still able to keep his trainer on his toes. After a short while, he spoke, even as he dodged a punch.

"What are you all waiting for? Get to work!" He called to the class. It stirred them into doing what he was doing.

"Well, he told us not to hold back," Harry said to his partner, who nodded. "So let's not!"

With that, Harry and his first Pokémon, Lucario, launched into a give-it-your-all spar. Hermione and Ron stared at their friend. The brilliant girl decided she didn't want to risk failure, and opted to follow suit. Ron, after a while, finally decided that it wasn't worth it to fail either. Soon after, the rest of the class began to do the same. It was about halfway through the spars that Nozawa and his team member stopped, and began to watch the others.

"Damn, Aromi, you still throw a mean punch," Lucario complimented his trainer as he rubbed a spot on his arm where said punch had landed.

"I'm not even going to comment on your hits," Aromi said, rolling his eyes. He no longer flinched at the bruises that would surely come up from all those hits he'd taken.

"_Hem hem,_" A voice so annoying it was impossible for people to not hate it, caused everyone to freeze. Nozawa sighed and turned to see several professors, and a couple of Ministry of Magic people, standing there. He had to deal with his class first.

"Everyone get back to work, the exam isn't over yet," He told them all as the group of adults came over to meet them.

"I think not," Umbridge began to say, catching everyone's attention. "This barbaric method of testing will stop now."

"I'm sorry, but I didn't realize you were in charge of _my_ class," Nozawa said, rolling his eyes. "What do you want?"

"We are here to retrieve our original wands," Fudge said. "The one I have borrowed just isn't cutting it. You do have our wands, don't you?"

Nozawa smirked. He waited a few tense moments, before he began to speak.

"No, I don't," He said. Lucario was thoroughly enjoying the way his trainer was treating these Ministry people that held over-inflated egos.

"Don't lie to the minister," Umbridge warned her former colleague, voice holding a dangerous edge.

"What would I gain from lying about having your wands?" Nozawa deadpanned. "I don't have them, and for good reason."

"And what would that be?" Fudge snapped. His patience was thin with this foreigner.

Aromi opted to make a dramatic pause, a glance to Espeon telling her to teleport his wand into his pocket. She did it a moment later, and his grin became wide.

"I no longer have your wands because _I snapped them_," Nozawa answered, grin wide and almost feral.

A hushed silence reigned over the pitch as the Hogwarts staff that had escorted the two Ministry visitors down here stared, gaped, or something similar. McGonnagal was shocked her colleague had had the guts to do that, Snape's eyebrows were raised just as high as Dumbledore's. Umbridge and Fudge, after getting over their initial shock, were furious and brought out the wands they had borrowed from the Ministry in secret. Nozawa didn't flinch.

"Don't even think about doing anything around my students," he warned dangerously. "After all, what if you missed and hit one? That wouldn't be very good for the Minister's image, would it?"

Both of them paused upon realizing that the professor was right; if they missed with their spells, they could very well hit a student instead. So they reluctantly put their wands away.

"Why did you snap their original wands, Professor Nozawa?" McGonnagal asked, her voice returning to her at last. Even stuck in a wheelchair, she was strong.

"Considering how they have been dealing with the problems of the wizarding world, I thought it would be too dangerous for these fools to have one. Looks like they found a way around that, and I'm sad that they haven't learned their lesson."

"And what would that be?" Fudge asked, his rage only just contained.

"The lesson that abusing one's power is unacceptable. Now get lost. I'm not here to answer any of your questions, I'm here as a teacher. I don't have to answer anything you ask. So you may as well not waste our time and just leave. In the mean time... why is everyone standing around? Do you all want to fail?"

The entire pitch returned to its original flurry of activity.

"Lucario, you can take a break," Nozawa said to his team member. "Rikku, wanna spar?"

The Empoleon didn't waste any time racing down to meet with his trainer, while Lucario took said Empoleon's spot in the bleachers. Rikku and Nozawa prepared to spar, but after a moment, noticed that the group of adults had yet to leave.

"If you'd like, you could watch how a _real_ fight goes," Aromi told them. "One that doesn't involve magic. This is the kind of thing that happens in the _real_ world, where wands don't exist."

As professor and Pokémon began to spar, Espeon called out to Neville.

"Neville, that's enough," Espeon said to the shy boy whom was on equal ground with his Kirlia. "You two can come up here and rest."

Said boy and Kirlia shared a grin, before going up to do exactly as suggested. They'd passed, as Espeon told them when they got up there. They were sore all to hell, though. Luna and her Drifloon, both of which were surprisingly strong, soon joined them. Within a few minutes, the entire class had returned to the stands, having passed. The group of teachers had never left.

"Good work, class," Nozawa told them. "Tomorrow is Saturday, and as far as I know, there are no big homework assignments for you all – so spend the day resting. Just know that what we just did is not something unique to me – many other trainers do this in order for them and their team to keep in shape. Trust me, this is nothing new. It is up to you if you wish to continue doing this. On another note – congratulations on passing this class!"

There were a few quiet and tired cheers. Nozawa gave a smile before he dismissed them. His team had rotated and only a couple of them had gotten in a spar with him. Then he returned to the group of teachers that were still there.

"Now that you know that what I've tested them on is actually a training technique, I don't think you can be all that mad," Aromi told them as he returned his tired Pokémon to their Pokéballs. Algida and Kyashii remained out, at their request. "And I don't really care as to what you have to say, Minister. My team and I are tired, and we've still got a couple classes to get ready for. If you'll excuse us, we're going to get as much rest as we can."

With that, the man and the two Pokémon left, the rest of the class also leaving. The members of the Ministry left with their borrowed wands and not their originals, and feeling frustrated and angry at the foreigner that seemed to, despite his young age, have much more experience in the ways of the world than them.

_I know gravity ain't an excuse,_

_I just want to make things a little more smooth,_

_Majority is still asleep._

"Professor, you asked to see us before the End of Year Feast?" Hermione said to a packed-up Nozawa. He nodded to them. The days had gone by where they'd passed their final exams and the school year was ending today.

"You three recall what I told you during Christmas break, don't you?" He asked.

How could they not? A chance to travel the land of Sinnoh, the maps their professor having provided and used to teach having done so little justice to the place... it would be an adventure, if only for a month or three. They had discussed their options many times over the past couple of months, trying to decide – and they've finally reached their decision.

"We'd like to go," Hermione said after a few moments. Nozawa smiled and nodded.

"Excellent!" He said enthusiastically. "You'll have to return home for a couple weeks. Pack up and prepare, but be sure to pack _light_. I don't know if magic even works where we'll be going, but bring your wands just in case – and be prepared for a lot of travelling. Just be sure to take care of your teams in the mean time. In two weeks, I'll meet you three at the Leaky Cauldron, alright?"

There were a few nods before the man said for them to go on to the feast. As they walked, something clicked in Hermione's mind.

"Wait... he said that magic might not work where we're going?" She said, bringing this to their attention.

It was kind of odd for him to say that... but they soon shrugged it off, in favor of being at the feast. The feast where they would eat together in the hall for the last time before they met up again in two weeks. The place where Gryffindor once again earned the House Cup, infuriating the Slytherins as a result – not that they really cared. It was on the train that they would say good-bye, if only for a short time...

* * *

**Credits: **Song lyrcis from "3 Minutes Clapping", a song featured in the game "The World Ends With You". Quote source wishes to remain anonymous.

**A/N:** Please be sure to review, thanks!


	22. Chapter 22

**A/N: **I apologize for taking so long, but this was really tough for me to put into words. However, I hope you enjoy it!

* * *

_**Chapter Twenty-Two**_

_BACK TO ADVENTURE!_

"Where do you think you're going, boy, and at this time of night?" Vernon snarled at the ungrateful freak that still lived in his house. The raven-haired teen had packed exactly as he'd been told.

"Out," Harry responded coldly. He really hated this place. "What does it matter to you?"

"Be respectful, boy!" Vernon scowled as the teen gave him attitude. Unfortunately, his words were lost as the door was slammed shut. A moment later, an owl arrived with a letter, and Vernon grabbed it. "So the boy's going to be gone for a couple of months, eh? Fine."

The Dursleys would be more than glad to have the freak out of their house for the summer. The last two weeks had already been unbearable, and Harry could attest to that as he walked quickly to the park. A portkey would be waiting for him there, ready to take him to his destination as soon as he grabbed it and said the password. On the belt that his teacher had given him, were the six Pokémon he'd captured over the year. Some of which that had been with him since early on... and most of which that had suffered through the Department of Mysteries chaos with him. Either way, there was a little belt waiting for him, and as soon as he grabbed it, he spoke.

"Sinnoh," Harry said to it, and the next thing he knew, he felt a tug on his navel. Of course, he was easily floored when he landed.

"Heh, need a minute to recover?"

"I'm fine," Harry groaned as he stood up. "Hey, Professor. Where are we?"

"As close to the bridge to my place as possible," Nozawa said, nodding to Hermione and Ron who arrived with some nice 'thuds' nearby. "It'll take another portkey, though."

As Harry greeted his two closest friends, all three of them having packed as the letter from Nozawa had said to, they noticed they were on a mountain. Looking out, one could see for _miles_. It was absolutely gorgeous.

"That was actually an international portkey," Nozawa said. "Right now we're in Japan, on a mountain that the English and Japanese Ministries agreed upon. That's why it's daytime here. This next portkey will take us to Sinnoh. Be ready, because this one's a wild ride."

The three teens looked at each other before nodding to their teacher. He pulled out a Pokéball. A fitting portkey. As soon as they touched it, Aromi said the name of their destination, and then things happened. Instead of the usually chaotic mess of colors and surroundings, things went black for a while. They didn't even feel that tug on the usual spot. Things just vanished... but then there was a tunnel they were hurtling through.

"Hang on tight – don't let go!" Nozawa called to them. "We're almost there!"

Then, the journey slowly stopped, and they were gently placed on the ground. The trio sat with a thud as the Pokéball crumbled. It took more energy than a regular portkey to get here.

"You guys alright?" Nozawa asked them. They looked pale. "Better rest for a while."

The professor looked out upon the lake that they'd landed near, and let out his Pokémon. They immediately recognized the place, and grinned to each other. They were home. It took a few moments, but the professor was able to convince the trio to release their teams as well, and they did – and their teams looked very interested in where they are.

"Just take a break for a while, guys. I'll explain where we are in a minute."

_Another turning point;_

_A fork stuck in the road._

"So Ron, did you study the book I gave you?" Nozawa asked the redhead. Their Pokémon had been returned about a minute ago. Ron nodded. "So you have a better understanding of how the technology here works?"

"Yes, Professor," Ron said. Nozawa rolled his eyes.

"You guys don't have to call me that, really," The young man said as he led the way to Sandgem Town. They'd ended up near Lake Verity from the portkey.

"He practiced with the phone by calling me for two weeks," Hermione said. That had certainly been fun, but at least the redhead had gotten better.

"Oh?" Nozawa said, giving a look to Hermione. Her face flushed. "He was calling _you_?"

"W-Well, he couldn't call Harry, his relatives wouldn't allow it," Hermione stammered.

"I heard about them... anyway, I'm going to give you three a map, show you how to use it, then I've gotta go. You three are going to be on your own."

"You aren't going to escort us through the region?" Harry asked, frowning.

"I said I would bring you here to visit, not to escort you," Nozawa grinned. "Don't worry, I'll meet up with you guys every now and then, but I've got a job to do here. I've been gone all year, and that means I have a lot of catching up to do. I'll show you around the cities and meet you at their entrances, but other than that, this is for you three to have fun and relax and explore."

"I thought you invited us to show us around," Ron said, thoroughly confused.

"I never said that," Nozawa corrected. "I invited you to come visit Sinnoh. I'm here to make sure you guys don't get endlessly lost for the time that you'll be here. But you three are _trainers_, and as such, you will experience first-hand what the vast majority of trainers do on their journey. You are going to be going through this region together, with your teams, which is an improvement over my trip through it."

"How so?" Hermione asked.

"I didn't travel with anybody but my team," Nozawa answered. "I believe I mentioned it during Christmas break. You will be traveling together, going through all of the trials and tribulations this world has to throw at you, and all three of you will come out stronger. That much I can promise.

"Remember me saying that I refused to baby you? If I were to lead you through the region on a great big tour... you are officially Pokémon Trainers. As such, it would be better for you to go through this region as trainers – and prove that you can do it. Or do you not have the guts?"

The three of them looked at each other when their professor paused in his talk. Then he waved for them to follow, when they remained silent. They did as requested, following shortly enough. All three of them were impressed by the sheer number of Pokémon that moved around the area. There hadn't been nearly this many back at the forest in England.

"Pro... I mean, Aromi, how many Pokémon are there?" Hermione asked, curiosity overwhelming.

"If you want to take the time to try and count it out, have fun," Aromi answered, throwing a grin to her as they walked along the path. "We've recognized approximately 500 species, but no way do we know the actual population. At least, I don't. Professor Rowan probably does."

"Professor Rowan?"

"There are people in the world that know a lot more about Pokémon than anybody else, and they're the Pokémon Professors. Most of the stuff I had in my curriculum I took from what they've written about, especially Rowan. Each of these guys, and more, help starting trainers get going with their journey, including the giving of a starter Pokémon."

"So you got Empoleon from him?" Harry asked.

"That's right," Nozawa said, smiling as they crested a hill, and ended up at Sandgem Town. "And that building over there, with the satellite dish on it, is his lab. It'll only take a couple of minutes to reach it."

The young man's prediction was very true. It took a mere five minutes to reach the lab, and upon entering, Nozawa was greeted by one of the aides. The men spoke, and in a language that the trio didn't understand. The scientist left, before returning with whom the three assumed was Professor Rowan. The two of them spoke, and again, the trio had no idea as to what language it was.

"So you are the three students Aromi mentioned?" Rowan said in English, voice deep. His pronunciation of the language was almost perfect, a touch of an accent present in his speech.

"Uh... yes," Hermione nodded after a moment, when the boys remained silent.

"How did he do as a professor?" Rowan asked curiously, as he went about the room, gathering a few things.

"He was pretty good," Harry said. "Probably one of the best."

"What made him that way?"

"Is it because of what I did with Malfoy and Umbridge?" Nozawa asked, grinning over his shoulder from where he was in between calls to friends and family.

"That was part of it," Ron grinned.

"Naturally."

"Malfoy and Umbridge?" Rowan asked the older trainer. There was a few minutes of the other, unknown language between the two as the professor was told exactly who said people were. It ended with Rowan's statement, finally back in English. "You need to tell me the full story sometime."

"Yes, sir," Nozawa said, giving the man a mock-salute. The Pokémon professor rolled his eyes as he turned back to the three.

"Have you three attempted to cast any spells since you got here?" Rowan asked.

There was a bit of silence.

"...How do you know about magic?" Hermione asked tentatively.

"I told him," Nozawa said, taking a quick break from all the calls. Constantly holding a telephone got tiring and annoying after a while. He grinned at the trio's looks of shock and such feelings. "Oh, please. You can agree with me when I say that what Pokémon are capable of is just as magical. If you notice, the professor has yet to think you're crazy or anything like that."

"I don't need to think that because you already are," Rowan chuckled.

"I don't count," Nozawa countered, rolling his eyes. "Anyway, why don't we try the translation spell?"

"...There's a spell that does translations?" Rowan asked, intrigued.

"What, you want me to put it on a Pokémon?" Nozawa grinned, the professor nodding with obvious interest. "Alright, I suppose _someone_ on my team will be willing to try it out for the dear, old professor..."

Rowan gave an exasperated sigh, "Are you going to do it or not?"

The trio were giving each other looks at how these two treated each other like old friends. Was this normal for the two of them? Either way, Empoleon was released from his Pokéball. The Emperor Pokémon instantly recognized the place, and gave a quiet sigh of remembrance... before finally turning to his trainer and asking, in Pokélingo, what the problem was. Both Nozawa and Empoleon raised their eyebrows.

"We had the translation spell on you before we came back to this world," He noticed. "Perhaps the transition between worlds cancels all of the spells? That would explain why the Portkey crumbled into pieces earlier."

"Em, empo," Empoleon agreed with a shrug.

"Well, I suppose now is when we find out if the spells work here. I'm going to try the translation spell on you, okay?"

Empoleon nodded, and Rowan watched in fascination as a trainer he'd watched set off eight years ago waved a little stick, a slight glow appearing from its tip and encasing the Pokémon. Said creature shivered a bit.

"I wonder if you know how weird that feels," Empoleon commented. There was a pause. "Oh, hey, it worked!"

"We figured that out when the old man started staring at you like you were the most popular pop star of the world," Nozawa laughed. Said laughter caused the older professor to recover almost instantly and roll his eyes.

"Are you going to do the spell to the rest of your team?" Rowan wondered. Unaccustomed to being around him, the trio failed to notice the slight note of impatience in the elder's voice. Nozawa grinned.

"Well, first," Aromi said, turning to the trio. "Why don't you register these three? I have one last call to make, and they look like as lost as a Magikarp."

The golden trio blushed and snapped their jaws shut, now that their teacher had pointed that out. As said man, along with Empoleon, returned to the phone to call the man's mother, the three Hogwarts students were taken through a series of steps to register them for the world. Rowan knew from Nozawa's correspondence that they knew little about non-magical items, and so he went through the steps calmly, gently. By the time Aromi had finished his call to his mother, they were finished, and according to the Pokémon world, were official trainers. Sure, their Pokédexes had said that, but that was outside of the Pokémon world.

"Aromi, would you like to go outside and see everyone else?" Rowan asked the older trainer. In an instant, the man's face lit up.

"Do you even have to ask at this point?" Aromi countered, now looking _very_ impatient.

Rowan smirked, and led them outside. Nozawa didn't waste anytime, the golden trio staying back to watch.

"Why don't you three let out your teams and start working on setting up the translation spells for them?" Aromi suggested before he dashed a little farther out, Empoleon following. Both wore huge grins on their faces. Nozawa cupped his hands around his mouth before – "HEEEEEEY!"

Aside from those who had seen him do this before, he was given looks of surprise. He waited as patiently as he could – which is to say, not at all. The trio were unsure of what exactly he was waiting for... had he lost his mind? Perhaps he'd called out to get out some frustration or something? It was certainly possible, what with the last year. But it just didn't seem like him.

"ACK!" Nozawa cried, just as some_thing_ crashed into him, happily knocking him down. This _thing_ immediantly went about cuddling and nuzzling him. "Dragonair, you silly girl!"

"Drago~!" She purred, nuzzling up closely to him, making him laugh.

"Oh come on, you know that tickles!"

Dragonair pulled back only a moment, a grin plastered on her face. Yes, she knew that it tickled him. That's why she was doing it. She relented, though, and pulled back as there seemed to be a stampede of Pokémon – all of whom glomped Nozawa and Empoleon. The trio and their teams stared.

"He has... that many Pokémon...?" Harry asked, feeling faint.

"About a hundred," Rowan confirmed with a nod. "All of them unique."

The trio, and their teams that now wore the translation spell, stared at the sight, then at each other. A hundred unique Pokémon were in that one massive group? And they had all been caught by their professor?_ Holy crap_. Either way, however, the older trainer was more than happy to sit down among the crowd and let his current team out. Voices rose almost instantly from the crowd, obviously demanding stories. Nozawa laughed.

"Okay, okay, just give me some time!" He grinned. "I learned a few things while I was there, you know. I'm sure that Empoleon can back me up on this."

"Oh, he certainly did learn a few things," Empoleon said smugly. The entire crowd hushed and stared.

"Ty... tyranitar, tyran tar?" Tyranitar asked after a while, eyes wide and mouth agape.

"Yup!" Aromi said, grin widening significantly. "I learned how to cast a translation spell! It cancelled itself in the transition from the other world to this one, but I was able to recast it. How about it, you all want it?"

There was an instant chorus of agreements. Aromi's grin widened even further – their students had never seen the man so happy before – as he went to work. He was quick, efficient and accurate in his castings.

"So... does it work?" Rapidash ventured carefully. Then she blinked, just as those nearby her did.

"Holy Arceus, it _does_ work!" Steelix's deep voice rumbled from where he was curled around the group.

Nozawa laughed at this. Steelix blushed a touch.

"Err... sorry about saying that..." Steelix apologized, thinking that he'd possibly offended his trainer or something.

"No, don't worry about it," Nozawa said. "It's just you mentioned someone we had the honor of meeting while we were gone."

There was a long silence as Nozawa and everyone on his teaching team, not including Algida, was stared at.

"You did WHAT?" The entire group exclaimed in unison. Aromi laughed louder than he had previously, his teaching team, as they could now affectionately be called, doing the same.

"I said, we met Arceus," Nozawa repeated. "During Christmas break, we invited him to stay with us for Christmas."

"Dude, nice!" Leafeon exclaimed, grinning. "What did you guys do with him then?"

"Celebrated Christmas, of course," Espeon answered. "What else did you think we did, silly?"

Leafeon stuck his tongue out at the psychic-type, whom responded in kind. Chuckles came forth, before someone noticed something.

"What's that on your neck, Kyashii?" Jolteon asked. It was now that the trio noticed their teacher had every single one of the Eevee evolutions. Now that was impressive. Kyashii blushed at the mention of the necklace.

"Actually, you all appear have them," Flareon commented. She grinned when the team blushed.

"I got the necklaces for them," Aromi said, before explaining about them.

"What's in yours, Algida?" Dragonair asked, flying over. Before Algida could hide the jewelry, the dragon-type saw the picture, and gawked. "No. Freaking. Way."

"What?" The rest of the group asked. Once again, before Algida could say anything, Dragonair responded. This resulted in Algida's face becoming quite red.

"You won't believe it! She has a picture of PALKIA in there!"

"...You're right, we don't believe it," The group said after a moment.

Back over by the lab, the trio and their teams were still a little dumbfounded.

"Are they always like this when they get together?" Hermione asked Rowan, whom nodded.

"They are very close to each other," He said. "Nozawa is, to all of those Pokémon, someone very special. And in some cases, he has that effect on Pokémon he's only met once before."

The trio nodded their understanding. Is this why their teacher had brought them here? In order to get them and their teams to be that close of friends? Perhaps that wasn't such a bad thing... and perhaps coming here was going to be a lot more fun and rewarding than they'd thought...

* * *

**Credits: **Quote from "Mario & Luigi: Partners in Time". Song lyrics from Green Day's "Good Riddance (Time of Your Life)".


End file.
